Shots of Ectoplasm
by LuckydrawR
Summary: This is a oneshot/drabble collection that obviously follows Danny, but can go from him turning evil, being transported to another dimension, becoming a full-ghost or even meeting characters from other series (crossovers). It's just a fun way of me writing out my oneshot DP ideas.
1. You Wanted A Villain

**_I know I've got SO many stories and I just started another Danny Phantom fic a few months ago, but oneshots are usually easier for me to write than full stories at most times. This way I can get my creative juices flowing with writing oneshots and try working on other stories I have too. As I said I find writing oneshots easier as it's one full story per chapter hence the oneshot part of it unless it's a two-parter or such. Anyways, yea, I wanted to do a oneshot/drabble Danny Phantom story to also help with writing DP characters as I write 'A Phantoms Grudge'. I've seen that people have lists in their own oneshot stories, but since I don't know what the next story/oneshot will be I won't have one. Mine will also probably have crossovers in it too just because I like them and for my own interpretation on those series meeting DP characters._**

**_This is an alternate universe story of a 'what-if' scenario of what if Danny was caught by the Guys in White and died in captivity. Would he be the same Danny as a full-fledged ghost or something else. But, I think I went a little off topic around the middle to the end. It was meant to be Danny being an evil ghost, but it's like he's manipulating everyone he comes into contact with. I was planning it having more destruction, but maybe I can write a second part where Danny goes full-on ghost on everyone. It's just a thought._**

**_Also here's a picture of what Danny's ghost form looks like in this oneshot though the picture is only on my Amino account:- aminoapps c / danny - phantom / page / blog / soe - story - 1 - danny / (Just put the spaces together)_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_What-if Scenario - Captured_**

**_Genre - Drama/Tragedy_**

**_Word count - 5,285 (not counting ANs)_**

* * *

**_Story 1: __You Wanted A Villain_**

_"PLEASE! STOP, PLEASE ... it hurts..."_

_"It does not hurt. Ghosts don't feel pain that is a proven fact."_

_"You don't understand. I'm not ... like other ghosts," A soft whimper escaped said ghost's lips._

_"Shut up, scum."_

_The sound of forcefully ripping fabric could be heard before the loud cries and screams of a teenaged ghost resonated through the metallic base, making every white-suited human shiver with glee at the sounds._

_The boy just wanted to go home._

_He struggled against their ghost-proof restraints; trying to avoid their sharp tools._

_He eyed the sharp edge of the scalpel that neared his now bare chest, swallowing._

_He didn't want to die._

_Again..._

_SOE_

It was a dark, dreary evening on the fifth anniversary of the Ghost boy's sudden disappearance. The local ghost hunter couple were ecstatic he was gone yet also saddened they didn't get to experiment on him; at first. It didn't take long for them to realise that their only son was missing along with the ghost.

This had sparked outrage.

The Fentons believed that Phantom had kidnapped their boy and had possibly done it to get to them.

They had tried looking for both boy and ghost, but nothing came up.

They hoped and even prayed that their Danny escaped from the '_bad ghost_' and was on his way home.

It never occurred to them that their boy was indeed kidnapped, but not by a ghost...

The only people that really knew that Phantom was innocent was Jasmine Fenton, Samantha Manson, Tucker Foley and Vlad Masters.

The three teens had tried looking for Phantom in their own way until they came upon continuous dead-ends.

They had no choice, but to ask their parents old college buddy.

He had a soft spot for Danny, after all.

However, even he couldn't find the boy which frustrated the man.

He had even gone to such lengths as to check the Ghost Zone for the teen.

He was met with a dead-end like the teenagers.

It was a loss that couldn't be filled easily.

Now five years later; Jasmin was currently on holidays from college, visiting her parents. She still met up with Sam and Tucker only so they could fill the void that Danny had left. The twenty-one year old woman was currently sitting in the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee in her hands with the small television on as background noise.

Her aqua eyes stared into her mug, lips turning downward as a choked sob escaped her lips. "Where are you, Danny..."

_"It's been five years since the disappearance of resident hero and ghost; Danny Phantom. It was also around that time that the son of resident ghost experts; Maddie and Jack Fenton went missing. It was presumed that Phantom had kidnapped the boy and many still believe it to this day."_

The words of the reporter on the TV caused the young red-haired woman to scowl. '_Because no one appreciated what my brother did for them..._' she thought, bitterly.

_"In other news; the Guys in White facility went into lockdown recently when one of their recent ghost captives went on a rampage and..."_ She stared at her notes, swallowing before continuing. _"...killed many of the operatives. The survivors were able to lockdown the facility, but the ghost escaped before the ghost shield went up. The ghost left one message behind."_

Jazz blinked, turning her head to the television to finally pay attention to what was being said.

Danny had always been afraid of what the GiW could do if they got a hold of him.

He had said that their research was just as flawed as their parents, but whereas their parents study ghosts ... the Guys in White _destroy_ ghosts.

That had made her scared for him whenever he had gone up against those white-suited weirdos.

Their aim was bad, but if they tried hard enough ... they could catch him.

But as she stared at the screen all that fear for the GiW drained away and was turned towards whatever thing - _ghost_ \- did this.

An image appeared behind the reporter of a white wall that was stained in blood, making the young Fenton in the room shiver.

The words were simple yet left a mark in all who watched the news that morning.

The message left behind by the ghost that had once dwelled in the GiW facility as a former captive read: _You wanted a villain. You got one._

Down below the words was a hastily drawn _DP_ insignia only it was changed.

The _P _was no longer inside the_ D _instead it was the other way around however the _D_ was missing.

It was replaced by a creepy looking grin with eyes that looked like they were leaking or ... crying.

The insignia was the sign of their hero.

Someone had to have put that there to frame him, right?

Jazz stood up from her chair, breathing heavily as her eyes opened wide. She felt a lump rise in her throat and forcefully pushed it back down.

"No ... please, just ... no..." She mumbled out as tears streaked down her cheeks, unable to hold them in any longer.

There was no way that was her brother.

Danny would never kill.

_SOE_

He had flown for miles, invisible to the people below. The only thing on his mind was to get back. He saw the sign by the road that led to the small town and zoomed past it, causing many trees to billow behind him. He flew over houses on the edge of the town, searching for the familiar neon signage and UFO on top.

He stopped when he spotted the two-story, red brick house, landing in an alleyway and regaining visibility. He allowed two white rings to move over his body, changing him into the missing Danny Fenton.

The teenager looked around the corner of the alleyway, eyeing the quiet street before hurrying around the corner and up the front steps of his old home.

He had been missing for five years, so he couldn't just waltz in like usual.

He had to knock as if he never lived there.

As if he were a stranger asking for directions.

He brought his arm up, knocking on the door; waiting for either his parents or sister came by to answer.

He kept glancing over his shoulder with narrowed eyes as if expecting someone to jump him with an ecto-gun at the ready.

He heard a click and turned back to face the door just as it opened to reveal his sister. He blinked his eyes when he saw her. She had grown since he last saw her; she wore a buttoned up white shirt with jeans and her hair was cut to shoulder-length. She looked a lot like their Mum now - more mature looking.

She blinked, staring at the boy on the front steps.

He had long black hair, pulled back in a short ponytail; his ice-blue eyes gazed at her with a knowing look in them. He wore a dark grey shirt that had rips in it with a black jacket over the top and ripped-up jeans. He was probably about an inch shorter than her since she's stopped growing after eighteen, so he'd be about 5'5".

She couldn't take her own aqua eyes off of his own icy ones.

They were so familar.

An icy blue she hadn't seen in ... five years.

Jazz opened her mouth and let out a silent gasp, still staring at the boy before bringing him into a hug. "D...Danny ... oh Danny, you're back..." She held onto him, tightly, thinking that if she let go her brother would disappear again. "W...Where were you?"

Danny let his arms grab Jazz's, pushing her away and frowning at her. "I'll explain as much as I can to you, Jazz." He gave her a soft smile as he watched her wipe tears away that were forming in her eyes.

She nodded, "O...Okay. I better go tell ... Mum and Dad." She turned around about to head to the lab before turning to face him again. "Please, don't run off..."

He shook his head at her, keeping a smile on his face. "I won't, Jazz. I'm here to stay."

She smiled back, glad to hear that answer and hurried off to find their parents.

Danny closed the front door behind him, leaning his head on it as a smile crept it's way onto the teen's features. A red glow shimmered in his eyes as he gazed at where his sister had gone.

"You're a fool, _sister_..." A light chuckle escaped his lips before he stood up, regaining his composure and walked into the living room where he'd most likely have to talk with his family.

It didn't take long for Jazz to return with their parents in tow. Danny noticed that his Dad had another invention in hand, most likely one they'd been working on. Once their eyes lay on him they froze and gaped.

Before long they lunged at him with hugs and kisses which he ... welcomed.

"Oh my baby boy is alive!" Maddie exclaimed while running a latex hand through his still quite messy black hair.

He shivered at her words, slightly narrowing his eyes before smiling as if it didn't bother him.

"I knew you could kick that Ghost kid's butt, Danny-boy!" Jack exclaimed while patting his back, rather roughly.

The two let go of him after praising him for escaping from the '_bad ghost-boy_' before finally noticing his appearance.

He didn't look nineteen.

He looked sixteen.

It confuddled them and also worried them a little.

But maybe their son just had a youthful appearance like some other kids did.

"Danny, how did you escape?" his Mother asked him and he frowned.

His parents always judged Phantom first when it could've been something else.

"I wasn't kidnapped by Phantom." This caused his parents to blink and frown. "It wasn't a ghost, but humans. You do realise that humans can be just as evil as ghosts, right?" He lifted an eyebrow, watching his parents reactions.

His parents just scoffed, laughed even.

It annoyed him.

"There may be bad humans, Danny, but saying that they're evil is a bit extreme," Maddie told him.

He narrowed his eyes at her words. "So the humans that steal, murder and rape innocent people aren't evil? How are humans and ghosts any different then?"

The three Fentons looked to the recently returned one in confusion though the redhead had some idea why he was asking these questions.

"Danny, what on earth are you talking about?" Maddie asked, frowning at her son. "Those people are criminals; plain and simple."

He grit his teeth together. "You're missing my point..."

His Mother was about to retort when the machine Jack had put down on the coffee table buzzed causing all four Fentons to stop and stare at it.

Danny frowned, deciding to ask what that was before his parents shot at him. "What is that?"

His Father picked up the machine with a large grin on his face. "_This_ is the Fenton-Ghost-Scanner! It scans any nearby ghosts and takes into account all their history; when they died, where they've been and what level they are!" A frown suddenly marred his features. "There aren't any ghosts around here unless their invisible..."

His Mother stood up straight as that realisation sunk in for her, taking the ecto-gun off her belt and held it at the ready. "Don't worry kids ... we'll stop the ghost."

Jack pressed a button on the machine causing it to buzz and finally start talking; excitement buzzing through the jolly man at hearing what his invention would say. Jazz's eyes widened as she realised that it was most likely Danny the machine keyed in on and stared at her brother as he just stood by and did ... nothing to stop it.

_"Fenton-Ghost-Scanner activated - ghost scanned ... Danny Phantom..." _The Fenton parents gasped and looked around the room, trying to locate the spook. _"Day of Death - 3rd of March 2004 and ... 2006..."_

The Fenton parents looked at each other with frowns on their faces. "Why does he have two date of deaths in two separate years?"

They quietened down when the machine continued, _"Current level - eight and nearing a nine." _The Fenton parents widened their eyes at this. They didn't know that Phantom was that strong. _"Used to reside in ... Amity Park. Was captured by the GiW, tortured and ... experimented on until escape a year ago."_

Jazz stared at the machine with wide eyes as she turned her eyes to her little brother, noticing he had gotten up and was leaving the room. '_He has a date of death in 2006. He would've been sixteen then and he looks sixteen here._' she stared after her brother with wide eyes. '_H...He's not..._'

The machine buzzed once more before going on once more. _"Past life of Danny Phantom was ... Daniel Fenton..." _The machine could only just finish the name before an ectoblast destroyed it.

Jack and Maddie whipped around to find their son in the doorway to the kitchen, hand smoking and glaring at the machine. The glare faded as a sad smile spread across his face.

"I...I never wanted you guys to find out..." He mumbled out, letting his smoking hand fall to his side.

"D...Danny, so you're..." He nodded, turning his head away from them. "...but why do you have two death days?" His Mother was smart, but it seemed even she couldn't piece what he had been together.

"In 2004 I had that accident with the portal - I was inside when I was shocked. The reason it counted was because I kind of half-died. I became half-ghost which was why all your inventions went off on me. Then a few months later I was caught as Phantom by the GiW and ... you know how they are..." He kept his eyes on the ground, lip wobbling as he remembered what they did to him. "At first it was just small tests with my powers then they went further with dissection. I was afraid of would they'd do if I revealed my human half if they'd make up some bull about you guys harbouring a ghost when you didn't even know." He snorted. "I stayed in ghost form and ... it kept me alive for the most part, but I started feeling weak because I wasn't eating food. The more time passed the weaker I got and with each vivisection I got ... I could tell my healing couldn't keep up. I wasn't eating, so my human half wasn't sustaining any sustainence and my ghost half was injured beyond what it was capable of repairing on minimal energy. So, in 2006 my human half lost the fight from both starvation and the injuries sustained by my ghost half." He let out a deep breath and let it out.

It was nice to tell someone about all that.

He looked up to see his sister with tears streaming down her cheeks and looking ready to give him another tight hug. His parents on the other hand ... looked like they didn't know what to do. Their son had been a half-ghost which meant he was still half-human, but now ... he was a full ghost.

He watched as his Mother finally came to terms with what he had just explained and what he'd said before the Ghost Scanner went off. She still had her ecto-gun in her hand and aimed it at her dead son; who frowned at her.

"You're just manipulating us like all ghosts do; using my dead son's body! How dare you!" She exclaimed, aiming at the glaring form of her son.

Danny eyes the remains of the machine with his piercing blue eye. "I am your som. That machine said so since it read my ecto-signature. I'm just Danny's ghost." He narrowed his eyes. "Or do you not accept the fact that I'm dead?"

There were tears in Maddie's eyes as she shook her head in denial.

She had hoped that her boy would come back _alive_ not a ghost!

Why a ghost!?

She didn't even know if it was really her son or some post-human remains of him.

"Danny..." He turned to face his sister and gave her a sweet smile and Jazz could tell that it was faked. She didn't like this. Was this really her brother? Did something change in him after he was at GiW. "...um ... I saw a news report that said a bunch of GiW agents were killed by a ghost that recently escaped." She looked at him, pleading him for this to not be true. "That wasn't you, was it, Danny?"

He seemed to be in thought before a frowned marred his face. "I escaped a year ago and have sort of been flying around for the past year. The GiW base I was in was all the way in Washington D.C, so I thought to look around for a while."

The three Fentons let out sighs of relief that Danny's ghost wasn't evil.

He had escaped a year earlier than the attack on the base.

However Jazz couldn't get rid of the feeling that Danny was lying to them.

Was he actually manipulating them ... like an _actual_ ghost?

She took a small device from her pocket, approached her brother and hugged him; not letting him notice the device scan his ecto-signature. This one didn't have a large perimeter like the one their Dad made. You had to get up and personal to the ghost.

"That's the second time you've hugged me today. I get I was gone for a few years, but cut me some slack, Jazz," he tried to joke.

She let go of him and lightly punched him before stepping up beside her confused parents. "I'm sorry, Danny." He lifted a brow at her, finally noticing the device as she pressed a button. "I just need to know."

"_Ghost-Scanner ... old ecto-signature recognised as Danny Phantom known as the halfa or half-human, half-ghost. Is known for being a good ghost. New ectoplasmic signature within Phantom now recognised ... full ghost no longer halfa ... identified as no longer good ghost ... bad ghost. Stay away,_" the small device said causing the three Fentons to look where Danny was.

The Fenton parents immediately aimed weapons at the teenager though they seemed shaken.

This was the ghost of their son.

A ghost that had once been good and now ... was bad.

How did that work?

A low chuckle escaped Danny's lips before a full blown laugh echoed throughout the house causing the three to look around, but then turn back to Danny. He had a hand covering his face as if to hide something from view.

"I should've known it'd be you to figure me out, Jazz." He removed his hand from his face to reveal slitted bloody red eyes. "You were the smart one after all." A large fanged grin spread across his face as he stared his family down, causing shivers to wrack their spines.

The temperature in the house dropped drastically.

There was ice starting to coat the walls and the three living Fentons could see their own breath as they began to shiver.

"D...D...Danny, w...w...why are y...you doing t...this?" Jazz sputtered out due to the freezing temperature in the room.

He turned his red eyed gaze on her and frowned. "Why? Why shouldn't I?" He growled out as cold wind surrounded the youngest Fenton and when it stopped ... Phantom was in his place.

The three could only stare at his transformation. He was no longer the scrawny sixteen-year old that had just been standing before them. Phantom's once messy white hair was now flicked with flecks of icicles, making it look like his hair was actually made of ice. His once tanned skin was now as white as snow and as cold as the dead. His once ectoplasmic green eyes that glowed like a neon sign were now blood red with a vengeance. His trademark hazmat suit was changed up to fit him better as he'd grown muscles and was much taller in ghost form. His _DP_ symbol was gone and replaced by a _P_ with a leaking smile in the middle.

"I...It was y...y...you then..." Jazz muttered almost to herself, but Danny heard.

"I killed the GiW agents? Yes, what of it. They were a nuisance," Danny snarled out, his voice deep and had a bit of a baritone to it.

"D...Danny, you p...protect p...p...people not k...kill!" Jazz tried to reason with her brother.

A laugh left the confines of Danny's throat as he turned his head to face his freezing family. "The Danny you knew died in the confines of a GiW base, fearing for his life." He took several steps closer to his family. "In my beginning days there I hoped I'd get out. That someone would help me." A grim smile spread across his face before he became disgusted with himself. "As time went on I still held on to that hope. However..."

He glared at his family as they stood technically freezing to death from the ice coating their lounge room.

"...As my final days came I began to realise that no one was coming for me." His smile grew so big it covered his entire face, showing fangs. "I died a few days later after a vivisection and some torture." He chuckled at the expression's frozen on his family's faces. "And you wanna know the best part? I died blaming humans. I was technically trapped in my ghost-half, so my human-half was useless and I died blaming those that are fully what I once was. So..." Danny narrowed his eyes at them. "...my old obsession may have been to 'protect', but my new one. I don't really give a damn about you _humans_. You can all rot for all I care."

Maddie and Jack's fingers were beginning to go numb as they dropped their weapons on the floor.

Jazz wanted to cry, but didn't want to due to the cold temperature around them.

They were going to die.

Danny was going to kill them.

He wasn't showing any remorse either.

That large grin spread across his face just showed that he was delighting in this ... like any other ghost would.

This wasn't Danny anymore.

It wasn't even Phantom.

It was something different.

There was a loud crack before the door burst open as shards of broken ice scattered everywhere. Danny growled, turning invisible and skulking away from his nearly frozen family.

In rushed a short-haired young woman with black hair and violet eyes wearing Fenton wrist-rays and a young man with dark skin rushed in beside her with black hair hidden under a beret.

The young man noticed the family and rushed for them with eyes wide open. "Are you guys okay? What happened?"

"We got a reading of a strong ghost in here and rushed over..." The young woman eyed the house, noticing the ice that mainly coated the living room.

"We better call an ambulance. They might get hypothermia..." the young man stated, shivering at the thought of a hospital.

"T...T...Tucker, S...S...Sam, b...be careful..." Jazz told them with worry in her eyes. "H...He's not an o...o...ordinary g...g...ghost..."

The two looked at each, wondering what she meant by that before Sam motioned for Tucker to call the ambulance. Once he was on the phone she hurried into the kitchen to get something warm for the family when she felt something chilly on her neck as if someone was breathing near her.

"Hello, Sam..." She whirled around to come face to face with a ghost she hadn't seen before, but recognised the hazmat and snow-white hair. "...remember me?"

She stared at his face for moment before swallowing. "D...Danny..." She turned her head back to where the Fentons were in the living room before turning back to him with anger in her eyes. "Did you do that?!"

He put a finger to her lips, shushing her. "Why would I do that? They're my family."

She relaxed some as he took his hand away from her, caressing her cheek. "Danny, what happened to you? Why are you..." She gestured at his form and he chuckled.

He leaned closer to her, hearing her heart beat faster the closer he got. "You failed me, Sammy."

"Huh?"

"If you looked in the right place you would have found me." He kept caressing her cheek with his cold hand and noticed how she began to shake. "I'm dead, Sam. All because you didn't find me in time."

She shook her head in denial at this accusation. "No! Y...You're lying! You're not him! You're not Danny!"

He leaned in closer to her almost so that their lips met; his red eyes boring into her own violet ones as she backed up into the counter. "I am, Sam. I died in GiW custody; experimented and tortured bi-weekly." A grin spread across his face. "It was so satisfying to get payback."

Sam couldn't take her eyes off of what was once her best friend and crush. "Y...You killed them?"

Danny nodded his head as though enjoying every bit of her fear.

He leaned in once more and smelled her. "You're fear is so delectable, Sam."

Her eyes widened at hearing this as if a sudden realization passed over her. "Y...You feed off of fear like how S...Spectra feeds off of misery?"

"Well, it's only natural I feed off of fear. After all I died while fearing for my life," He explained, smelling her once more.

He leaned in near her neck as Sam froze up.

The frost from the living room began to drift into the kitchen and coat the kitchen walls and counter tops.

The young woman shivered as the cold bit at her sleeveless arms and bare legs.

She looked around at the kitchen as the frost, slowly coated the room in thin layers of ice.

Her eyes then went back to the ghost before her and shivered as his red eyes bored into hers.

"Y...You're not going to ... kill us? A...Are you, D...Danny?" she couldn't help, but question it herself.

The ghost before her was no longer Danny nor was it Phantom.

He was too different to be either of them.

A grin spread across his face that only said one thing in Sam's mind.

Her eyes grew wide at this revelation.

He was enjoying every bit of this.

He was enjoying her suffering; his family's suffering.

He was getting a sick, sadistic pleasure from it.

This ... wasn't Danny anymore.

"Kill you?" he laughed as though amused by her question. He leaned in a little too close for her comfort. "No, Sam, I won't kill you or the Fentons ... not yet." That twisted grin reappeared on his face. "Right now all I want is to see you suffer. I want to see you fear for your life..." He pointed a cold finger at her chest. "...just like I had to."

Sam swallowed the leftover saliva that had built-up in her mouth. "H...How long?"

Danny only lifted a brow at her before smirking. "As long as I want." He looked over his shoulder through the small window that led over the countertop to show the living room. "This was only the beginning." He turned back to her. "A show. A warning."

"Sam, the ambulance is here and..." The voice of Tucker cut in as he came into the kitchen, freezing up the instant he saw the ghost. He took out an ecto-gun and aimed it at Danny; who just snorted. "GET AWAY FROM HER!"

A malicious smile spread across Danny's lips as he eyed Sam's shaking form before turning his red-eyed gaze back to Tucker. "I believe I've overstayed my welcome. I'll be seeing you again soon." He eyed the living room. "Them too." His gaze turned back to the two in the kitchen with him.

"Why did you attack the Fentons? What did they do to you to deserve this?" Tucker asked, voice filled with anger at the attacker of his best friend's family.

A snort of laughter was his response. "Ask them. I don't feel like repeating myself."

The dark-skinned young man frowned at that response, looking ready to shoot the ghost.

"Though if you want a simplified version..." He lifted himself off the ground, looking ready to take off. "I'm the ghost of a missing boy." He narrowed his eyes as a smirk played across his cold lips. "Full-Ghost."

Tucker stared at Danny with wide eyes as he lowered his ecto-gun, shaking his head in denial. "No ... he would never ... Danny would never..."

"Kill?" Tucker lifted his head to face the ghost. "Danny Fenton is dead. I'm what remains of him. His sorrow, his fear and ... his hatred." He narrowed his eyes at the two humans in the freezing kitchen. "Do not speak as if you understood him. You're _human_." He spat that word out like it disgusted him.

"But we're your friends and they're your family," Tucker said, pointing to the living room.

The ghost didn't look at all phased.

"Friends? Family? I may have cared once, but now I really don't care or see the need for such things," he spoke with a snarl on his face that caused a shiver to ripple up Tucker's spine.

"Danny..." Tucker began, but was promptly cut off with Danny's red-eyes glaring at him.

"That is no longer my name." The room grew colder as if the temperature just completely dropped due to Danny's anger flaring. "My name is not Danny Fenton nor Danny Phantom." The cold lifted a bit as Danny grinned at them, maliciously. "It's now ... Poltergeist." He lifted higher into the air, keeping his eyes on the two in the room and grinned. "Live every day like it's your last. You don't know when I'll come for you." As he disappeared through the ceiling; they could still hear his deep, baritone laughter emanating through the house.

As if taunting them when he'd be coming for them.

They didn't know.

All they had to do was take his words as if they were advice and wait until he showed up and be ready for him when he did.

After all ... he wasn't Danny nor was he Phantom he was now Poltergeist.

And Poltergeist felt no guilt about killing.

He was a true ghost.


	2. How To Raise Half-Ghost Kids

**_Alright, here's my second chapter of SoE. As I said in the previous chapter I won't have a list, so when I update the stories/oneshots will be completely random. It could be an AU, crossover or a fun little story I thought up on the fly. Anything really._**

**_I wasn't really aiming for this story to be chapter two. I just like the idea so much, but I think I have a problem with making my favourite characters single parents. However I see multiple stories on here of Danny and Sam having a 'happy' family and future together. None of them show what Danny's ghost DNA could do to Sam, so this is how I see it._**

**_Anyways, I'm also gonna answer questions that you guys leave in the reviews:_**

_**Kingpin asked - **'Would you do a crossover with the Suicide Squad with the reactions of the members with one so young or him joining Joker's gang (Jared Leto's Joker)?'_

**_My response - The crossovers I was planning on doing are more related to Anime as I watch a lot of that. I don't really think I'll be doing a 'Suicide Squad' crossover even though I've seen the movie I'm not really a DC fan and I also don't really know any of the characters either. Sorry, but I'm only going to stick to crossovers with DP I know as I like to characterise characters as correctly as possible._**

**_Anyways, enjoy!_**

**_Genre - Drama/Family_**

**_Word count - 6,778 (not_****_ counting_****_ ANs)_**

* * *

**_Story 2: How To Raise Half-Ghost Kids_**

It was a dark, dreary night.

There were clouds in the sky, thundering rain down on the small apartment complex in the small ghost infested town of Amity Park.

Twelve years ago; ghosts had come through the Fenton portal day and night, but were stopped by one particular ghost known as Danny Phantom.

He wasn't an ordinary ghost though.

He had a human life as ordinary high school geek - Daniel Fenton; the son of Amity Park's resident ghost experts.

The years went by and the half-ghost and his friends grew up, graduated high-school, entered college then graduated that. Through it all the three friends had stuck together like glue even though they went to different colleges.

However ghost-fighting always seemed to come to the forefront in his daily life like it did in high-school.

Though that didn't matter once they finished up and Danny had proposed to Sam; his girlfriend since last year of high-school.

The wedding had many references to the Danny Phantom symbol and the ghostly green colour of the Ghost Zone that no one a part from certain people understood.

It was a beautiful event.

Not a year later did Sam come out and tell Danny that she was pregnant, but it went downhill from there.

Their excitment for the baby soon turned to dread.

Danny started to wonder if Sam should abort the child, but she refused as it went against 'her morals'.

Once the month for delivery was nearing ... Sam went into labor a month early.

Danny was distraught after the birth of his kids.

Sam hadn't made it and all because of him.

His freakish DNA killed her.

Now the twenty-six year old man sat at his kitchen table with a beer in one hand and his cell phone in the other. His raven black hair was still as messy as it used to be, but a little longer at the back. His ice-blue eyes seemed empty, but held enough spark in them to shine every once in a while. He had grown taller since his high-school days and now stood at around 6'4" with muscles that looked well-trained but weren't bulging.

He let go of the beer bottle and ran a hand through his hair, biting his bottom lip.

He hadn't seen or spoken to his parents since his wedding which had been two years and a month ago.

He still had to prepare for Sam's funeral, but had a feeling her parents had it covered.

The man let out a sigh, steeling himself before finally grasping his phone with both hands, unlocking it and calling.

Danny put it to his ear, swallowing.

He could hear the rings on the other line as he waited for someone to pick up.

"_Hello Fentonworks! Maddie Fenton speaking!_" His Mother spoke with an overly cheery voice.

A tight smile spread across his face at hearing her voice. "Umm ... hey Mum..."

There was a slight pause on the other end as Maddie realised who had called. "_Danny? I haven't heard from you in two years! What's the big idea calling me now, Mr?_"

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it instantly.

He didn't know what to say.

How could he tell her that he had kids - _she_ had grandkids, but he was...

He took in a shuddering breath, lowering his head a little. "I called because ... I need help..."

"_Help with what?_" she sounded generally confused at this.

"I...It's hard to explain over the phone..." he told her, trying his best not to mutter. "I'll come down instead..."

"_Danny, what...?_"

"Please..." he sounded like he was begging at this point.

She sighed, knowing her son well. "_Alright. Y...You probably want company I guess. I heard about Sam._" He swallowed, lowering his head so that his hair covered his eyes. "_I'm sorry, sweetie..._"

He stayed quiet.

The information about Sam that left the hospital was false. He wasn't ready to tell anyone she died in childbirth, so he asked the nurses and doctors to keep quiet and lie that her death was a car accident. They didn't like the idea, but understood that he was grieving and just didn't want to explain to his wife's parents about grandkids yet.

However the Mansons being who they are had somehow gotten this to spread all the way to his Mother's ears.

He had not wanted that, so as to avoid awkwardly explaining why he lied about her death, but he knew it'd come back to bite him soon.

Finally shaking himself out of that pit of shock, Danny decided to get this over with. "I'll be over in half an hour. Bye Mum."

He hung up before he got an answer, leaning back in his chair and groaned. He rubbed a hand against his temples, massaging them.

Why he suddenly had a headache he didn't know.

He was geting them a lot lately.

A cry caught his attention from down the hall in the spare room. He got up from his chair, putting his phone in the pocket of his jeans and headed down the hallway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he absently walked into a wall and lightly cursed.

"Gonna be a long thirty minutes..." He grumbles to himself.

_**SOE**_

After finishing up a certain duty; Danny was able to get everything he needed in his car. He had then, placed the two baby-seats in the backseat, strapping the five month-old twins in each before getting in the front. It didn't take him long to reach Fentonworks, pulling up out the front and parking the car on the side of the road by the red brick house.

He leaned his head on the steering wheel, letting out a contemplative sigh.

He really couldn't do this alone.

He needed help, especially with his work as Phantom.

He couldn't just up and leave his kids alone.

He didn't even want to bring them _here_.

He had a feeling they'd be like him.

If they showed ghostly symptoms ... his parents would freak.

They'd think his kids were possessed when they were just showing signs of their powers.

He bit his lip, hoping they wouldn't get any until a few years.

He turned his head to look into the backseat at the twin five-month olds that just blinked at him.

A soft smile spread across his face before turning back to face the house and taking a deep breath. He put his hand on the door handle for his car and opened it, stepping out into the cold night air. It didn't bother him due to his ghost-half being resistant to cold temperatures.

The storm had calmed down for the time being, but it was still rather chilly outside.

The rain didn't help matters either.

He closed the door and wandered over to the back of his car, opening the boot and pulling out a stroller. The man widened it out, pulled the wheels out and flattened the seats and placed tiny cushions on them. He placed it on the ground before closing the boot and wheeling it around to the backseat door.

One at a time he took one twin out of their carseat and placed them in their own stroller seat since it was a twin-seater and buckled them up.

Once finished he stood up, closing the car door, locking it and began to roll them up to the front door of his old home. He stared at it for what felt like hours before finally lifting a shaking palm and knocking.

He heard a loud crash and winced, eyeing his kids to make sure they didn't start wailing. It was obvious to him who had made the noice once a loud, "GHOST!" shouted from within.

"It's just Danny, Jack!" he heard his Mother tell his Father. "I told you he was coming."

There was a rush of footsteps and Danny felt the urge to move the stroller aside in case his Dad decided to jump him in a hug before looking.

The halfa quickly decided to step in front of the stroller just to be sure.

The door was swung open and he was brought into a strong hug. He may be the same height as his Father now, but the man had a grip and even if it wasn't muscle it still hurt.

"Danno! Glad to see ya!" Jack exclaimed, letting go of Danny and patting his back.

The younger Fenton couldn't help but wince at his Father's loud tone. He had grown to hate loud noises since he became half-ghost and he knew how sensitive his senses were, but his kids ... he didn't know yet.

"Dad, could you ... lower the volume...?" Danny asked, trying to be as discreet as possible.

"What for?" His Father asked, blinking.

Danny rubbed the back of his head, wondering how to explain it. After all it was dark outside, so Jack probably couldn't see the stroller with his kids from behind him.

"Danny, what's that behind you?" Then again that doesn't include his Mum.

He swallowed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. _'Come on, Fenton, calm down. You're a grown ass man. You can tell them this.' _He opened his eyes, revealing the tired blue within, but the smile on his face was enough. "It's why I called, Mum. I...I'm not just grieving over Sam." He shook his head before moving aside and letting light from inside the house cast onto the stroller.

Maddie and Jack stared, gaping at the twins strapped to the stroller. One had messy, black hair obviously from Danny and blue-green eyes while the other one has messy, dark, strawberry-blond hair and lavendar eyes. The black-haired one wore a blue onesie while the strawberry haired one wore a purple one.

They were both lost for words, staring at the two babies.

Danny rubbed a hand behind his head, looking away and smiling a little.

The sound of his Mother cooing, made him turn back around as she was kneeling before the stroller while examining his kids with a keen eye a Mother could only have. "Danny ... their gorgeous!"

She grabbed the cheek of the boy and squished it causing him to giggle and his sister to pout.

"What are their names?" Jack asked as he also examined the two babies.

Danny swallowed, hoping his parents didn't do that too often. "The girl is Lilith; Sam always liked that name..." He kept rubbing a hand behind his neck. "The boy is Andrew."

His parents nodded, standing up and smiling at him. "Well, come inside. It's freezing out there."

Danny blinked, nodding and doing as his Mother said. He brought the stroller in as his Dad closed the door behind him. Maddie gestured for him to leave the stroller in the living room.

He obliged, undid the strap on Andrew first as the baby practically fell into his arms, giggling. Danny just lifted a brow at this and shifted his weight to one arm before going to grab his sister, but a hand stopped him.

"Danny, I can do it. Jack can get the things from your car if you like?" Maddie said, giving him a smile.

The young Fenton sighed, grabbing his keys from his back pocket and handing them to his Dad, nodding. "Alright. I packed nearly everything because I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying. Right now I probably just need the cot, some clothes and food."

His Father nodded his head and left out the door.

A silence permeated the room as Maddie took her granddaughter from the stroller, holding her to her chest. "How old are they?"

"Five months..." Danny mumbled out, his eyes glazing over as his large hand ran over his son's small head of hair. "T...They should be four though."

This caught his Mother's attention as she turned to him with wide eyes. "They were a month early?"

He only gave a solemn nod as an answer.

The woman continued to stared at her only son as things started to make sense and her eyes widened further, tears appearing in her eyes. "Oh Danny..."

"You just realised, didn't you?" he asked and she nodded. "Yea, it wasn't a car crash. Sam died in childbirth." He lowered his head a bit more almost touching his son's own head. "I...It's my fault..."

"Danny, don't blame yourself." There was a small sniffle from her son and she could tell he was trying his best not to cry. "Just look what she left behind; two beautiful babies."

He shivered at those words, but it still didn't take away his guilt.

His sorrow.

Heartache.

Worst of all ... his kids wouldn't have a Mother growing up.

If he knew his DNA caused such a thing he should've suggested adoption for them.

He stopped his thoughts when a tiny hand grasped his nose causing him to open his eyes and stare at his son. The baby stared back with wide blue-green eyes, confused and looking ready to cry too.

"It looks like even little Andy wants his Daddy to stop crying," Maddie stated with a smile on her face, watching the scene.

Danny's mouth fell open a bit before closing it and smiling. "Alright. I'll stop." The baby sniffled and smiled at Danny, showing a mouth with no teeth.

The man lifted his head up, wiping his eyes with his free arm. "Thanks, Mum, for doing this."

Maddie shook her head at Danny. "You're my son." His smile faltered for a moment. She looked down at the baby girl in her arms. "Jack and I now have grandchildren to spoil."

This only caused a snort to come from Danny's throat. "Fine, but I want to set a few rules. I don't want them blasting themselves with an ecto-gun."

"But they don't harm humans..."

"Mum!" Danny cut her off, frowning at her with narrowed eyes. "I'm here to learn how to raise them and while I do so I don't want them endangered by the weapons you guys keep around the house."

His Mother looked surprised at the outburst before a smile spread across her lips, nodding. "Alright, we'll be sure to keep all our weapons in either the weapons vault or the lab. We'll make sure to always lock the lab whenever we leave."

A sigh of relief left Danny's lips at her words. "Thank you..."

The front door burst open and in came Jack with the folded up cot under an arm, a bag of clothes in one hand and a bag of food in the other. "What room should they be in?"

Before Maddie could say anything Danny decided to cut in, "My old room. I still fit in the bed since it was always too big. I like to sleep in the same room as them because ... you never know if a ghost will pop up in the night."

The reaction he got from his parents was the obvious kind.

They stiffened at hearing that Danny had been attacked by ghosts at home and hadn't called them.

Did he take care of them on his own?

"The ghosts ... do you take care of them?" Maddie asked, staring at him, still surprised.

"Umm ... you could say that. I have to since I live in an apartment and I don't want my kids to get hurt."

His parents nodded, understanding the reason behind that.

Jack headed into the kitchen first to put the first bag down before heading upstairs to put the bag of clothes on Danny's old desk and setup the crib. Danny and Maddie followed shortly after to find that Jack had just finished pulling the crib out. It was one of those extendable ones that only needed to be pushed in certain places to shorten it to fit into a closet.

Jack walked over to the bag, sifted through it to find a small mattress for the crib, a big fluffy pillow and a soft blanket. He set the mattress down and made sure it was in right before Danny set his son in and Maddie set her granddaughter in and Jack lifted their heads up to put the pillow underneath.

Finally Danny pulled the blanket over the two yawning babies, watching their tired eyes close and drop onto the mattress.

Danny smiled, leaning against the crib and watching them with the essense that a new Father held.

A proud one.

"Danny?"

He turned his head to face his parents; who were smiling at him and he let out a small chuckle. "Yea, sorry, what's up?"

The two looked at each other before gesturing for him to come with them. Danny obliged, closing the door, gently and turned to face his parents.

They looked at each other once more before giving him a worried yet serious expression. "Danny, you have to tell them at some point."

A sigh was all that left his lips as he ran a hand through his messy black hair, turning to look away from his parents. "I know. They just never liked our family and I don't know how they'll take it."

"You don't know. They might really like the thought of grandkids," Maddie told him, smiling.

Danny snorted at hearing that. "Yea, anyone on Earth, but mine."

"Don't say that. They may be ... offish, but I'm sure you can get along with them." She looked as if she was going to raise her hand to ruffle his hair, but rejected the thought after realising he was a grown man.

Her baby boy was grown up with his own kids.

"You sleep tight and come get us if you need anything, okay?" Maddie told him.

At hearing this Danny just raised an eyebrow as if asking if she realised how old he was.

She sighed, shaking her head at him. "You know what I mean, Danny." She patted his rough shoulder as she walked passed him. "Night Danny."

His Dad did the same, but a bit harder before he too decided to head to bed.

However not before unpacking some clothes from the bag and putting them in his old dresser. He brought some of his own, but his kids needs were more important right now. He collapsed on the bed, careful not to wake up his kids before falling into the graceful pit of sleep.

_**SOE**_

Danny sat at the kitchen table, eyeing the twins as they sat in high chairs with mushy food placed in front of them. There was an open envelope beside his coffee mug and the man was currently contemplating what to do.

It was the invite to Sam's funeral, obviously arranged by her parents.

It seemed like they weren't even going to send him one, but had to due to him being Sam's wedded husband.

The funeral was tomorrow.

That was too soon.

He hadn't even told the Mansons the truth yet.

They were going to be pissed.

Beyond even.

Unless the cuteness level of his kids could help with anything.

However he wouldn't be surprised if they came out with a lawsuit saying he was an 'unfit parent' due to being a recently widowed man.

How many single parents out there are perfectly fine.

He knew of one pair and the daughter was ... something else...

He let out another sigh, lifting his head from his depressing thoughts to glance between the twins. Andrew had the whole plate up to his face, hungrily eating it while Lillith was taking clomps and smooshing her whole fist into her mouth.

He smiled at the two, shaking his head at them. "Teen years will be a nightmare..."

The sound of the front door opening and closing caused him to freeze and frown. His parents were currently in the lab, working, and he gave up his key when he moved in with Sam. So the only other person was ... his eyes widened; whirling around to face the kitchen entrance.

A woman of around twenty-eight with short red hair stood wearing a business suit of sorts in the doorway to the kitchen, staring at the man sitting at the table with the twins.

"Umm..."

"Danny...?" she gasped out, looking from him to the two babies, still eating. Her shock disappeared as quickly as it appeared and a giddy smile spread across her face, handbag falling to the floor as she tried not to squeal. "I'm an Aunt!"

Danny lifted his hands up, gesturing for her to quiet down. "Jazz, quiet."

She nodded, still holding that giddy smile as she wandered into the kitchen and inspected the two babies. Danny rolled his eyes as he noticed his son finished eating first, picked him up and put him over his shoulder to burp him.

He could feel his sister's eyes on his back which made him feel uncomfortable since he's only ever done this alone at home.

"You're already getting the hang of this?"

Danny nodded, stiffly. "Yea, I am. I have to."

"What are their names?"

"This is Andrew and..." He turned to glance at the still-eating baby. "...that's Lilith." He turned back to face the counter, patting his son's back as he did so.

He turned to face his sister and noticed she had turned away from him. "I'm sorry, Danny..."

He let out a sigh. "Jazz, don't apologize. People have been doing that too often to me." She blinked, staring at him and he gave her a smile. "I'm trying to move on. Sam would want me to keep going for these two."

Jazz smiled, chuckling, "Yes, she would."

Before the two could say anything more a burp came out of Andrew's mouth causing Danny to freeze and Jazz to stare. It wasn't an ordinary burp. It was magnified to almost sound ghostly like Danny's 'Ghostly Wail'.

"Danny, what was..." As she looks over to his face she could see that he had just realised what had happened.

"I...It's their powers. I'm guessing their gonna start small and then get major later..." he told her, swallowing.

He placed the baby boy back in the high chair and picked his daughter up to do the same thing to her.

"Will you plan on training them when their powers come through?" Jazz questioned Danny and she could see it in his eyes that he didn't want to.

"I don't want to. I don't want them to go through what I did. I want them to at least have a chance of being normal kids." He lowered his head. "But they're not. They won't ever be normal because I'm their Dad. A person who walks on the boundary of life and death."

Jazz put a hand on her brother's shoulder and smiled him. "Danny, I'm sure that this fear is natural. You're new at this after all. But it doubles due to you being Phantom too."

His gaze shifted to her and nodded his head, slightly. "I guess..." A small burp only came from the baby girl in his arms causing a sigh of relief to escape his lips as he returned her to the high chair.

The older of the two Fenton siblings watched as her brother cleared the small bowls from the high chairs and placed them in the sink. He turned the tap on, letting it run over the bowls as he grabbed a napkin, wet it and returned to the table. He leaned over his daughter and cleaned her face of the food stuck around her mouth and hands before grabbing another napkin and doing the same to his son; whose entire mouth was covered in the mushy baby food.

"So, are you staying here?" Jazz decided to speak up as she watched her brother finish up cleaning his son's face and throw the napkins away.

"Just for a little while. It was getting hard to take care of them as well as go fight ghosts as Phantom since I couldn't leave them alone with a ghost around..." He shook his head, sighing. "I also haven't been able to get back to work yet. My boss said mourning _does _take time to get over, but I can't keep this up."

Jazz swallowed, looking to the twin babies before looking back to her brother. "Does ... anyone else know?"

He turned his head to face his older sister and let out a tired sigh. "The only ones that know are the doctors and nurses that took care of Sam while she was in labor." He ran a hand through his messy, black hair, frowning. "I ... technically told my boss. I was sleep deprived one morning and was calling to tell him I wasn't coming in when the twins startled me by crying. I then told my boss the truth of why I wasn't coming in instead of lying to him." Danny lowered his head a little. "He said he understood and told me to take as much time off as possible, but I needed to sort things out soon."

His sister nodded her head, smiling at him. "Do you need help with anything?"

He blinked at her before letting out a small chuckle. "No, Jazz, it's fine." He waved a hand at her as she frowned at him, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Danny..."

He groaned, knowing that she'd just continue to try and get whatever was bothering him out. "Alright, fine. I usually let them play in the playpen for a while before naptime." He picked his son up once more as his sister picked his daughter up. "You know it's one of those gates to keep babies in a small area with toys. It's in my old room."

As they were about to leave the kitchen the rushing of footsteps made them stop as Maddie and Jack came up with weapons in hand, looking around carefully.

Danny tried his best not wince at the sight.

"Mum, Dad, what are you doing?" he asked, trying his best not to sound so cautious.

"We heard a loud echoing sound like a sonic wave come from up here. A ghost could be here. It might even be that menace - Phantom!" His Mother listed off.

Danny tried not to eye the weapons, but he couldn't help it.

They were unnerving him with how his parents were waving them around so carelessly especially with his babies around.

"Wouldn't the houses defenses have gone off if that happened?" Danny asked his parents, trying to get them to calm down.

He had to think this through first and not jump to anger.

He was a parent now and getting angry all the time won't solve anything.

The two recently discovered grandparents looked at each other before looking back at their son. "I guess you're right, Danno. But what made that sound?" His Father still looked unsure whether to put his ecto-gun away or not.

Danny swallowed, seeing Jazz from the corner of his eye as she looked at him too.

The young Father's lips fell into a thin line, not wanting to tell them yet.

He needed their help.

If they didn't accept him then they wouldn't accept his kids either - their grandkids.

He needed more time to think of how to tell them.

"I...It might've just been the house. It's an old house after all. It's bound to make odd noises every once in a while," Danny tried to make up an excuse. He noticed the looks his parents gave him. They didn't seem to believe him; his Mother especially. "Can you put those away now?"

They looked at the weapons and frowned. "Danny, you were raised around this stuff. What would be the difference if Andrew and Lilith were too?"

Danny shook his head at his Dad's question as if it was the stupidest thing to ask him. "I just don't what my kids near weapons, okay?"

"But they don't harm humans..."

Danny ignored his Mother's comment and continued in a growl, "OKAY?"

The two jumped, surprised at their son's change in tone before slipping their ecto-gun's into their belts. Danny just shook his head, letting a sigh escape his lips as he headed up the stairs with Jazz following him to his room. The two entered his old room and placed the twins into the small playpen in the corner of the room. The woman eyed her brother as he sat down on his old bed with a groan.

"Danny, you do realize you have to tell them..."

"I know..." Was his mumbled response; his head in his hands.

She sat down beside him and wrapped an arm around her younger brother to ease the stress on his shoulders.

"I just ... can't right now. I know I'm risking their safety the longer I prolong it, but ... I don't know what to do if..." He choked, sounding close to sobbing. "...they don't accept me. And if they don't accept me then they won't accept my kids. I know it's selfish, Jazz, but..." He stopped himself as his voice became muffled in sobs and his sister stroked his hair, shushing him like she used to when they were younger.

"Danny, even if they don't accept you ... I do. If they kick you out you and the twins are always welcome to live with me," she spoke to him in a calm voice that always helped him through his sorrows.

He sniffed and a small smile graced his lips at hearing those words. "Thanks Jazz." He lifted his head up to face hers as she returned the smile. "You'll make a great Aunt with that soft touch you have." He smirked at her and she whacked his arm in return.

"Shut it, Danny!"

**_SOE_**

Danny groaned; a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as the Fenton Ghost RV arrived at Amity Park Cemetery. He wanted to be here for Sam, but he _really _didn't want to meet her parents under these circumstances.

He felt like he was going to hurl.

The RV parked in the parking lot as his parents got out of the front seats. The back door of the RV opened as Jazz glanced over her shoulder at him with a worried eyes. He shook his head, standing up and grasping the stroller handle tighter in his hands, pushing it down the slope from the back of the RV to the ground.

His sister looked him over, carefully. "Danny, are you okay?"

"Fine..." He rasped out, swallowing.

Before she could answer the back door slid back up, making Danny flinch at the movement as the RV beeped; meaning it had locked.

Soon after they made their way through the cemetary and to where Sam would most likely be buried. Danny noticed as they made their way to where the medium-sized crowd was for Sam that most wore black. He noticed that Mrs Manson decided to just wear something formal instead of the traditional black along with her husband. The two hadn't really changed in appearance a part from a few grey hairs here and there; some wrinkles on Mr Manson that his wife covered up with make-up or plastic surgery.

As Danny's family got closer he finally noticed that half the people there he knew while the other half he didn't.

He saw Tucker and Valerie and their parents; they hadn't changed much a part from one cutting their hair short and the other growing it out.

The other half - Danny didn't know which he presumed were most likely other relatives of the Mansons or friends of Sam's parents to pay respects.

As the Fenton parents and Jazz wandered off to go pay respects to the Mansons and Sam herself.

Danny just hung back; feeling uncomfortable with the atmosphere around the area.

However it seemed that luck wasn't on Danny's side as Pamela looked up, squinted and finally seemed to recognize him. Her eyes gazed down to the twin stroller that Danny was grasping hold of causing her to double-take. A frown marred her face before she started to stomp her way over to him; making Danny very uncomfortable.

She stopped just in front of the stroller and glared up at Danny's ice-blue eyes that stared at her in confusion and fear.

He really didn't want to make a scene, but this woman would definitely cause one.

"How dare you..." She ground out between gritted teeth almost snarling it.

"E...Excuse me?" He questioned her, surprised with her tone. He knew that the Manson couple didn't particularly like him or his parents, but what exactly set her off that bad?

"How dare you cheat on my daughter and bring _them_ here," She sounded close to yelling which Danny didn't want. His kids were currently napping in their stroller. He didn't want them crying at a funeral let alone their Mother's.

He blinked, staring at her, bewildered.

His eyes widened when what she had said finally caught up with him. "Wait, you think I cheated on Sam and..." He glanced down at his sleeping kids before looking back up at Pamela. He lifted an arm and waved it about while shaking his head. "No, that's not what happened. I never cheated on Sam. I ... planned to tell you and your husband sooner, but the invitation came so by suddenly that I freaked."

Her glare kept boring into him and he gulped. "If you didn't cheat on my Sammy then what?"

"They...They're our kids. Sam and mine..." He finally came out with it though it was more of a mumble. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I kind of went into shock."

The look on the older woman's face seemed to soften though it was still a little hardened towards him. "Tell me, Daniel..." He winced at his full name knowing what was coming. "...did she really die in a car crash?"

He shook his head while lowering it, hair covering his eyes. "No. I'm sorry I covered it up I thought I could handle this on my own and..."

"Just tell me..." She growled out before her voice softened into something more pleading. "...please. I want to know."

He lifted his head up and nodded. "Childbirth..." He turned his head away from the woman as he noticed her eyes widen and look down at the two slumbering babes.

She knelt down in front of them and looked between the two. "Then these two are my ... grandchildren..." He gave a solemn nod. She went to touch the girl that looked so much like her own daughter, but also looked like the Father. She brought her hand away and looked back up at him, eyeing the man before her. "Why didn't you say anything?"

He inwardly winced and tensed at her question. "I ... was afraid that you'd take them away. That you'd sue me, say I was an unfit parent. You have the money to do it ... I don't..."

The woman bit her bottom lip and looked at the two babies, slumbering away in the stroller. Her attention went back to Danny and she noticed the bags under his eyes, the light that used to be in those vibrant blue eyes was just a dull sheen now.

He was really trying.

She turned her head away from him, standing back to her full height. "I can still do it you know."

Danny automatically tensed at those words, drawing in a deep breath of air into his lungs.

"I won't though. Sammy ... wouldn't want that. She'd want them with you; their Father. No matter how much I think they'd be better off with me and Jeremy."

Danny let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, smiling. "Thank you..."

"It still doesn't mean you Fentons should keep them all to yourselves," She chirped, sounding happy almost straight away. "Their names?"

"Andrew and Lilith."

Pamela smiled, shaking her head at the girl's name before a bright smile spread across her lips. "A granddaughter I can take shopping when she's older." The woman turned and headed back over to where the burial was taking place and to explain to her husband what had just transpired between the two.

A crooked smile spread across Danny's lips. "Great..."

The funeral proceeded slowly with people giving respects to both the Mansons and Danny, knowing he was Sam's husband. The burial took longer to go through especially for Danny; who just stared at the coffin as it was lowered into the ground, slowly. He had to close his eyes to stop himself from crying.

What was wrong with him lately?

His parents had wandered over to give final respects along with his sister and once they came back he gave the stroller handles to Jazz as he did the same.

He steeled himself and lowered his head, holding at where his slow-beat of a heart was. "I love you, Sam. Always..."

Danny returned to where his parents and sister were and took the handle back from Jazz. He let out a sigh, looking over at the Manson parents as Pamela seemed to gush about his kids and Jeremy kept glancing over in surprise and looked on the verge of a heart attack. A soft smile spread across his face as he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to see his sister smiling at him.

"You ready to go?"

He was about to respond when someone else tapped him, but instead on the head. He frowned and turned around to see Tucker and Valerie. They had disappeared in the crowd of people after he'd spoken to Mrs Manson and didn't see where they went after that.

"Hey dude, how you holding up?" Tucker asked, giving his friend a small smile.

Danny returned the smile. "As good as anyone really."

He noticed Valerie's forest-green eyes lower to the stroller and widen. "Are they...?" Valerie cut her own question off, hand covering her mouth. "Danny..."

He waved a hand at them, especially when Tucker finally noticed the twins and looked about to speak up about it. "Please don't. I get enough looks about it. It's annoying. I just want to move on and raise them the best I can."

"We can help, Danny. You know that," The dark-skinned man told his friend.

Danny only shook his head with a smile. "No thanks, Tuck. I'm figuring it out and I'm getting help from my parents and Jazz, maybe the Mansons too. If I do need anything I'll call you." He smirked deviously at Tucker. "Maybe give you the job of babysitter."

Tucker waved his hands back and forth while shaking his head almost looking nervous. "No way! I don't even know how to handle kids!" He leaned forward to whisper in Danny's ear. "Let along kids with ghost powers..."

Danny gave his friend a mild glare at that before Valerie grabbed the man by his arm. "It was nice seeing you again, Danny. As the idiot here said if you need anything we're here."

Danny gave them a grateful smile, nodding and turning the stroller around. "I will and thanks." He waved to the two, letting out a sigh of relief that that was over and done with.

The man glanced down at the two babies in the stroller and smiled.

"I'll make you proud, Sam, just watch..."

* * *

**_NOTES:- _**

**_1\. I've always wondered about Sam's hair colour of whether it's naturally blond, red or strawberry-blond and she just dyes it black, but I've heard that dying your hair black ruins the roots. So unless her parents had black hair and just dye it lighter and she keeps it natural then I don't really know because I'd like one kid to have a different hair colour to Danny._**

**_2\. I don't remember much on how the Manson parents were portrayed in the show. I just remember that they protested at Circus Gothica and basically don't like Sam's 'dark' outlook on life along with disliking the Fentons. I've seen many fanfictions adding more to their personalities and I tried to do so too. That possibly the Mansons tried a little TOO hard in putting their beliefs on Sam which pushed her away from them and don't realise it until it's too late._**

**_3\. I couldn't really think of any names for Danny and Sam's kids. I've read a few future fanfictions and most of them have the daughter called Lilith which I guess makes sense since Sam called her flower sack that in 'Life Lessons'. The boy is the same - I've seen Danny have a son named Andrew in a few future fanfictions, but also other names. I'm better at finding names for Anime characters future children since Japanese names have meanings to them. So I kind of just decided on these two and also if you switch the letters of 'Andy' around it spells 'Dany' you just need an extra 'N'. So, that makes sense too._**

**_So, hope you enjoyed._**

_**LdR Out**_


	3. Runaway Or Kidnapped

**_Here's the third chapter of SoE. I've seen a lot of Danny Phantom Fanfics about dissection where the idea behind the fic differs from Danny's parents finding out and they still dissect him to they don't know and Danny tries to tell them. A lot of them are discontinued which saddens me because they don't go into how Danny feels after his parents hurt him. Also the ones where he runs away from Amity, but only a few tell he goes into the Ghost Zone. Also, Jazz is the one who always seems to save Danny in these stories or Sam and Tucker, so I wanted to make it different. So, basically this will be a oneshot centered around how Danny is after that whole situation with how his parents and friends feel too._**

**_I may decide to take prompts that you guys leave in reviews at some point as I've seen some DP oneshot collection Fanfics take them too. I used to hold back on violence, language and sexual content when I was in high school, but now I don't really care. I'm fine writing DP oneshots about nearly anything except sex scenes as I don't really go into detail with them and also I only write about hetero couples. I mostly follow canon and I like to stick to it, but add my own twists to it like anyone._**

**_Now to answer questions:-_**

**_Heavyweight asked - __"Will you please do song fics with Disturbed, Nickelback and Three Days Grace?"_**

**_My response - Well, I've never really seen the point in song fics. In my opinion the song breaks the immersion of the story if you have lyrics written between paragraphs - annoys the crap out of me. If I were to do a song fic I'd only base a chapter off of a song and possibly write how I felt when I wrote it. I just don't like song fics mainly for the fact most of them have lyrics in them. So sorry about that._**

**_Anyways, enjoy the chapter!_**

**_What-if Scenario - Runaway_**

**_Genre - Tragedy/Family/Drama_**

**_Word count - 5,109 (not including ANs)_**

* * *

**_Story 3: Runaway Or Kidnapped_**

_"STOP!" A voice cracked within the confines of a basement. "Please ... I'm your son - Danny..."_

_There was a mocking laugh after he said that. "My son isn't some piece of protoplasmic scum, ghost," The voice of a female spat at the teenager on the lab table as he struggled against his restraints._

_"But ... I am..." He hiccuped as he felt tears prick at his eyes._

_"Maddie, look..." A male voice spoke up, pointing a finger at said ghost. "It's crying?"_

_As if questioning why._

_"It's just acting, Jack. Ghosts don't feel." There was a tone to her voice as if she was positive about what she was saying._

_There was noises._

_Scrapes._

_Clanging._

_Ripping._

_A whimper before the two scientists finally decided to begin._

_Then there was a scream throughout the basement of the Fenton household._

**_SOE_**

A light groan caused the teenager to sit up, dazed.

His ice-blue eyes gazing around before realization dawned on him and panic set in.

He tumbled out of the make-shift bed, groaning in pain, but it still didn't stop the fear curling within him.

Where was he?

Was he still in the lab?

Did he die?

"Daniel, calm down." He whipped his head around to face a familiar and trustworthy face. His tense posture immediately went slack as he blinked at the ghost before him.

"C...Clockwork..." Danny mumbled out, voice raspy from screaming. "W...What happened?"

He already had a feeling he knew.

He didn't want to hear it, but he had to.

The ghost of time sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry I wasn't in time. The Observants kept me in a meeting and when I returned I saw the monitor. I knew your parents would capture you at some point..." Another shake of the head. "...I just hoped it wouldn't be so soon."

Danny stared as he listened to his mentor explain why he hadn't come in time.

The half-ghost clenched his fists, closing his eyes and looking away.

"Why couldn't you tell me?" There was anger in his voice, but it was overrode by betrayal and sadness.

The older ghost shifted forms into an old man making him seem wiser than he already was. "Only time will tell..."

Danny shook his head at that answer, teeth gritted. "Why ... do you have to talk in riddles all the damn time?!"

Clockwork just let out a sigh, gesturing to the bed that Danny had fallen out of in his panic. "Get some rest, Daniel." He floated away as Danny stood, clutching his chest that had been stitched up already. "You'll need all the strength you can muster to rule."

Danny turned to look back up at the ghost, but he was already gone.

The sixteen-year old stared at where his mentor had once been with wide eyes.

"Rule?"

**_SOE_**

"_It has been nearly two months since Danny Phantom left Amity Park undefended while Danny Fenton went missing in around the same time. It is speculated that Phantom kidnapped the boy as revenge after the Fentons captured the ghost and loudly proclaimed they experimented on him_," A newswoman explained on a small TV in a homey kitchen as three teens stared at it in silence.

The one wearing gothic clothing gritted her teeth in anger, clenching the mug in her hands tighter as the older teenage girl beside her lowered her head. "I can't believe how stupid your parents are."

"I know..." The older teen muttered, red hair covering her face as she sniffed.

If only she hadn't been away at College she'd have been able to stop them.

"Don't blame yourself, Jazz..." The dark-skinned teen spoke up, scratching a hand under his beret. "He usually always gets away. It just didn't seem like they'd catch him..."

They all lowered their heads at that.

Was it really their fault that Danny wasn't here?

Was he dead?

Did the Fentons kill him with their experiments?

They hoped not.

"And now they're taking the Speeder into the Ghost Zone to find Phantom to get Danny back." There was anger hidden in her violet orbs, but tried to hold it in. "What do they plan to do once they find him? Danny is probably terrified of them now."

"If he's still alive..."

"Please, don't say that, Tucker..." The redhead's voice cracked as if she was about to cry. She held onto her mug as if it was a lifeline. "I know he got out somehow ... like Sam said my parents won't know what they'll find. T...They gloated about how they..." Tears pricked at her cyan eyes as she tried to hold it in. "...cut him open. They didn't even know. If Danny's in the Ghost Zone ... he's there because he's too scared to come back and face Mum and Dad for what they did..."

There was a silence among the teens with the television on as background noise.

No one spoke in those moments.

Not even when they heard the front door open and the large, bulking figure of Jack Fenton bound in with a huge grin on his face causing the teens to look up, slightly.

"Guess what, kids!?" They just stared at him, blankly. "Vladdy's coming with us to find Phantom!"

There was a course of groans.

Of course he'd invite Vlad.

Said man walked into the kitchen as if he owned the place and eyed each of the depressed teens at the table, raising a brow.

"I'm gonna go back down and help Maddie finish up before we go!" The orange jump-suited man bounded off out of the kitchen, leaving the teens with the evil half-ghost.

The teens eyed him as he kept a close eye on them, turning his gaze to the television which was still playing images of Phantom causing his expression to soften. He strutted over to the counter, examining the sleek texture on it as he continued to feel the eyes on his back.

"What are you doing here, Vlad?" Sam snarled out, eyes narrowing at him.

He turned around to face the girl and gave them a half-hearted smile. "Is it too much to say I want to find Daniel too?"

"No." Was the only response he received from all three teens.

"That hurts, you know." He put a hand over his chest as if he had been wounded before placing it by his side and frowning. "I am here to hear Daniel's story when we find him. I am generally appalled that Maddie could do this to her own son."

Jazz frowned at what Vlad said, narrowing her eyes. "You're just saying that because if she doesn't accept Danny then she won't accept you."

A small smile produced itself onto Vlad features. "Bravo, Jasmine, you have me all figured out!" He clapped sarcastically before folding his arms and watching the teens glare at him. "However there's been a little rumor going around in the Ghost Zone recently that Daniel is to be the new Ghost King once he's of age."

The three stared at him, eyes wide, shocked.

"This ... isn't another trap, is it?" Tucker finally stuttered out.

"Oh my no..." Vlad waved his hand about. "...I heard this from Skulker; who isn't that happy about it since Fright Knight is always seen with him now."

"Fright Knight?!"

Vlad raised a brow at their surprised reactions. "Didn't you know that Fright Knight serves the Ghost King?" They shook their heads. "Well, since Daniel will be the new one Fright Knight now serves him." Vlad added a short tsk at the end.

Jazz looked down as though in thought before looking back up at Vlad. "Do the ghosts know that Danny was..." He shook his head at the unfinished question.

"If there are any it's the ones that he trusts. Otherwise..." A large grin spread across Vlad's face that heavily unnerved the three. "...I've read up on Ghost Lore and Customs and they're influenced heavily by Medieval Europe. So, the Fentons capturing and torturing Daniel would be seen as war to all ghosts." His eyes narrowed at the three. "No matter how much he wouldn't want it to happen."

Jazz, Sam and Tucker all looked at each other with wide eyes.

This could end badly if the Fentons attacked Danny in the Ghost Zone.

Not only would it be the ghosts home territory, but they would also be attacking the Ghost Zone's soon-to-be King.

If anyone did research on Medieval Europe on the wars back then ... they never ended with either side winning.

Both sides would get casualties and if it took place near a kingdom ... innocents and property damage as well.

No one needed that in today's age.

They just had to hope for the best, but knowing the Fentons ... it probably won't happen.

"V-Man, kids! The Speeder is ready to go!" Jack exclaimed from the lab as a loud bang was heard.

The teens exchanged an anxious glance with one another along with a frowning Vlad.

The man may not seem to care for the other half-ghost, but it seemed that since his status as Prince was announced it had him worried.

Danny wasn't King yet, so he couldn't control the Ghost Zone ... he was just a Prince; learning about it.

If the ghosts decided to attack for war because their Prince was hurt ... Danny wouldn't be able to stop it.

**_SOE_**

After a month; Danny had slowly recovered from his injury and had learned that due to right of conquest that he was the new Ghost King once he came of age. He was currently the Ghost Prince due to him being underage and his coronation would be when he was eighteen. The news spread like wildfire through the Ghost Zone like his halfa status; some ghosts excited while others not so much. During this he had taken to staying in the Zone due to not only being their Prince, but also the irrational fear of his parents. There were only few ghosts that knew he had been tortured and vivisected by his own parents those were Clockwork (as his mentor/guardian), Frostbite (also his mentor) and Fright Knight (with being the King's servant).

Danny had spent the month either healing, learning about ghost customs or training.

He hated to think about it, but the Zone felt more homely than his ever did.

Ghosts were nicer to him than humans were or had ever been.

True, there was the unlucky few that still didn't like him such as Walker and Skulker.

Most of all - Vlad; who he had yet to see.

However the more he stayed in the Ghost Zone the more he thought about how he'd probably have to face his friends and family soon.

He didn't want to, but he had a feeling it was probably going to be something he couldn't avoid doing.

The teenager let out a sigh as walked down the the long, winding hallway of Phantom Keep. It wasn't long after he'd been told of his status that he found out that Pariah's Keep had been transformed to accommodate the current Prince.

So, Pariah's Keep or now Phantom Keep was now his lair.

He had a room in one of the towers and came down to eat in the dining room at the right time. He had learnt that the food that ghosts make he can eat, but only because he has ectoplasm in his blood.

A normal human would die eating the food.

He's also taken most of his time to studying in the library to either just read or learn.

There wasn't a lot to do in the Ghost Zone for a Prince.

So, whenever he had free he was mainly walking around the Keep; bored out of his mind.

He did miss the human realm, but he missed his friends, his sister and all the fun times they had.

Time in the Ghost Zone seemed to move slower for him due to his everlasting boredom.

Danny came into the throne room, taking a few steps near the throne when Fright Knight barged into the room from the main door. The young Prince turned his head, blinking his acid green eyes at the ghost.

"What is it, Fright Knight?" Danny had also taken to staying in his ghost form in the Zone.

After what happened ... he couldn't stand to turn back to Fenton.

He couldn't stand having that last name anymore.

He was Danny Phantom ... not Danny Fenton.

Yes, his parents didn't know, but it still didn't make him feel any more betrayed and saddened at what they did to him.

"A large metal structure from the mortal realm has come through and is heading this way. What do you want me to do, Prince Phantom?" The knight asked the half-ghost.

Danny put a thumb and fore-finger to his chin as though in thought. "A metal structure?" He thought to himself out loud. "It's gotta be the Specter Speeder." He turned his attention back to Fright Knight with a determined frown plastered on his face. "The structure will pass by Skulker's Island soon. Keep an eye on it and make sure it comes this way."

The knight nodded his head and disappeared in a thick fog of violet and black smoke causing Danny to pout.

"No fair. I can't teleport yet..."

The Prince let out a bored sigh, drifting to the dining hall to have lunch for twenty minutes before returning to the throne room. He eyed the throne with a scowl on his face. He really didn't want to sit there when he finally became King, but he'd have to.

It was where Pariah Dark had once sat too.

He shivered at that thought as it passed through his head.

He couldn't think about that.

Right now he just drifted around the Keep, learning as much as he could before he got coronated in two years.

As his thoughts continued to drift he heard a screech of metal hitting rock, turning his head as the specter speeder flew through the double doors and landed before Danny. The teenager raised a brow at the entrance as Fright Knight waltzed in afterwards and bowed.

"I brought the structure, my Prince."

"I see that..." Danny mumbled to himself, eyeing it, waiting for someone to come out.

It didn't take long for the Fenton couple to burst through the door, almost kicking it down and aiming their weapons at the ghost and half-ghost. "WHERE'S OUR SON!?"

Fright Knight looked to Danny; who tried to remain calm, but inside he was having a war with himself.

He wanted to tell them the truth.

Another part of him wanted to cry.

Another part wanted to get angry and rage at them for what they did.

The last part of him ... most of him - wanted to run like the terrified kid he was.

He tensed his shoulders, swallowing, staring at the two Fentons as they kept the weapons aimed at them, mainly him.

Should he just tell them?

Would they feel guilty about doing it?

It didn't matter to him now though ... it was done and over with.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Maddie growled as she powered up her ecto-pistol. "Tell me where my son is or I'll blast it out of you!"

Fright Knight took a step forward, but Danny held up a hand to gesture him to stop. "I highly suggest you not to do that."

He had to remain calm.

He was the Prince of the Ghost Zone after all.

He had to bring order to the Zone.

"And why not?" She snarled out, taking a step forward as Danny took one back. "You took my baby from me. Why shouldn't I destroy you?"

Danny took in a shuddering breath and let it out. "Because you are currently in my territory - a ghost's home. It's different when we go to the human realm because you're only defending against rampant ghosts, but..." He narrowed his eyes at her. "...we can defend against rampant humans and shooting me is like sending the human world to war."

A laugh was all that he got in return for all that he said. "So ghosts have their own monarch? I doubt that."

Danny grit his teeth together at his parents stupidity. "I won't argue with you. You're already on a very thin thread with what happened before. Don't make me force you."

"TELL US WHERE DANNY IS!" His Dad had finally decided to join in on the discussion, holding the bazooka at Danny's head.

The teen just narrowed his eyes at them, shaking his head. "You know what I've had enough of this."

He heard a bunch of gasps from the speeder and glanced in that direction to see his two friends and sister covering their mouths and shaking their heads while Vlad looked indifferent to the situation.

Danny turned his attention back to the Fentons and frowned at them. "You want to know why your son isn't at home in his bedroom, cuddled in his bed? It's because he ran away. He didn't feel safe in his own home."

Maddie narrowed her eyes at Phantom, gritting her teeth at him. "You liar. You manipulative, lying, ectoplasmic scum! My son would never run away! We've never hurt him!"

Danny snorted at that as rings appeared around his waist causing the two parents to jump back and get defensive, weapons pointed at the Prince and at the ready. "Shows what you know." The rings went up and down his body, revealing a white shirt, jeans, sneakers and his usual messy, black hair and ice-blue eyes.

He watched as his Dad dropped the bazooka in shock, but his Mum stayed in position however she was shaking her head. "No. You are not Danny. You're just some piece of ectoplasm that's taken his form!"

Danny tsked. "I don't have that ability. Also if you actually took the time to _talk_ to ghosts and not _shoot_ them all the time you'd know a lot more then just the stupid theories you came up with. Ghosts _can_ feel. So, you cutting me open..." He pulled his shirt up, showing the scarred tissue there. "...I felt every bit of it."

The two parents stood stock still, taking in this piece of information.

They wouldn't believe it.

Their son couldn't be dead.

He couldn't be the ghost they'd hunted ... experimented on...

He couldn't...

"Danny isn't dead!" Maddie shouted with conviction as if she knew it as a fact. "He's alive! You...You've just kidnapped him!"

Danny had had enough.

He'd had enough of the yelling.

The lying.

He just wanted to get this over with and get rid of them.

"OPEN YOUR EYES!" He shouted, implementing some of his 'Ghostly Wail' into his yell. The shout caused the hunters to take a step back and take a defensive stance once more. He breathed deeply before continuing. "Why do you think I'm always late past curfew, I don't hand in homework and I get injuries!"

The two narrowed their eyes at the half-ghost. "How do you...?"

He cut them off before they could finish. "I've had enough!" He shook his head, gritting his head. "All the lying has just ... put so much on my shoulders I can't take it anymore..." He sounded close to tears, noticing how his sister tried to inch towards him, but was held back by Vlad as if gesturing to her that he needed to let all this frustration out. "I don't care if you accept me or not anymore. You've done enough to me with both your words ... and your scalpels..." There were now tears dripping down his cheeks as he spoke.

Maddie and Jack stared as Danny spoke, but they were shocked by the way tears fell down his cheeks and dripped onto the hard stone floor.

It looked exactly how their son looked whenever he got upset.

His big blue eyes all watery like a raindrop brimming with countless other drops of water bursting to come forth.

Phantom had looked the same way just before they cut him open.

His big green eyes had shown with despair, but also hope for them to believe him as his tears welled up.

It had diminished when they cut away at his flesh and his screams had escaped from his throat.

Danny was looking at them as if he'd been betrayed, but this wasn't Danny ... it was Phantom, right?

"You're supposed to be ghost experts ... and yet you could never tell that your own son was half-ghost..." He almost muttered that out, but his parents caught it.

"Half-ghost?" Maddie and Jack looked at each questionably, not believing it. "There's no such thing."

A grim smile spread across Danny's lips. "If you keep looking at it through science and theories, but it's true. I half-died two years ago in the accident with the portal..." He lifted his head a little to look at them. "I was on the inside when it turned on and electrocuted me, fusing ectoplasm with my DNA." He narrowed his eyes at them. "If it is removed it may as well be a death sentence for me."

The Fenton parents stared before finally everything that Danny said caught up with them.

The accident Danny had with the portal two years ago; he had been inside and received a large quantity of electrocution that could kill someone and had nearly done so.

Danny had been living as a half-ghost under a ghost hunter's roof for two years.

He _said _he was a half-ghost.

"How ... do we know you're not lying?" Jack finally asked, noticing how his wife had gone into shock.

Danny's blue eyes glanced over to Sam and Tucker before looking back to his parents. "Sam and Tucker were there that day..." He kept the grim tone in his voice as he continued. "I also still bleed blood in human form while in ghost form it's ectoplasm." He put a hand to his chest. "I also ... still have a heartbeat. It's slower because I'm technically half-dead and when I'm in ghost form it stops and is replaced by my ghost core."

Maddie shook off the shock, taking a step forward as Danny took one back but noticed how her hand was outstretched as if wanting to test if it was true.

He swallowed, looking away and let her put her hand on his chest where the slow beat of his heart was.

His Mother's eyes widened before tears pricked at the edge of them. "Oh Danny! I'm so sorry!" She tried to wrap her up in her arms, but he took several steps away from her; using his intangibility to get out of her embrace.

He shook his head at her. "I said I'd explain. That doesn't mean I forgive you..."

"But ... Danny-boy..."

"You may not have known, but you have to remember that some ghosts may be _'piles of ectoplasm'_ however others are in fact spirits of dead humans and just because they died doesn't make them evil." He may be talking out of spite, but he just wanted to get this off his chest. "All your _theories_ and _'research' _are false."

He spoke as if mocking them which he didn't really care at this moment.

"But we have..." They tried to talk back to their son.

Danny just cut them off yet again, narrowing his eyes at them. "Have you even talked to a ghost without shooting them?"

They stopped.

What was Danny getting at?

Was he saying that he'd spoken to multiple ghosts besides the ones he's fought back in Amity?

"I try to reason with ghosts. I don't go in with fists raised for a fight. Ghosts are just like humans, so don't say all ghosts are evil because they aren't. It's like saying not all humans are evil after hearing about a mass shooting. Ghosts are treated like animals," Danny growled out at them.

"Danny..." A calm hand placed itself on his shoulder and he turned his head to face his sister. "Maybe you should calm down."

He blinked before nodding his head and taking deep shuddering breathes.

He ran a hand through his messy, black hair. "I...I don't know what came over me. I just ... felt like letting everything out..."

"You've bottled everything up for two years, Danny. It's no wonder you got angry, but you got kind of defensive," Jazz explained to him, frowning slightly.

He frowned as well before shrugging. "Well, I'm half-ghost, so I should feel defensive of what's part of me." He looked away from his sister. "I guess another reason is because I'm technically the Zone's Prince now..."

There was silence among the small group of humans, ghost and halfas.

Danny bit his bottom lip, looking away from his parents as Tucker and Sam finally joined Jazz over by him.

"Alright, you found me. You can go back to Amity now," He said, turning around and focusing his energy into the wall before a portal opened up. He turned to them and gestured for them to head in. "Go on..."

His parents looked between their son and the portal before their eyes finally lay on him. "Danny, I know what we did was terrible, but will you ever forgive us?"

He turned his head away from them. "I don't know. I'll think about it." They seemed overjoyed by that answer. "I just need some time to think over it." He put a hand to where they had cut into him. "The physical wounds leave scars, but the mental ones stay. You have to realise that..."

The two ghost hunters glanced at each other in worry before nodding in understanding, hesitating to not hug their son they hopped back into the speeder and drove it through.

Danny turned to his leftover guests in his Keep and smiled, solemnly before letting out a sigh. "I'm so glad that's over..."

"Will you really forgive them, little badger?" The arrogant voice of Vlad questioned him; who had a brow raised.

Danny turned his head to the older halfa and frowned at him. "Unlike you I'm a forgiving person."

The man only frowned at the teenager's attitude. "But they cut you open, Daniel," He almost spat out in disgust.

The teenager gritted his teeth together at Vlad's words. "I know that, Vlad. As I said before I am far more forgiving than you." He narrowed his eyes at the older halfa. "It'll take me some time to get over the mental pain, but at least I can _try _to forgive them unlike _some _people."

The only response he received from Vlad was a tsk before he too headed through the portal.

The Prince turned his attention to the last few humans in the throne room with him and smiled. "Sorry, I lost it back there..."

"It's okay, dude. You have a lot on your plate right now."

"Yea, you need to blow off some steam every once in a while."

"You're Prince of Ghost Zone, Danny, are you getting enough sleep, food - are there any bathrooms here?"

Danny smiled as his sister continued to list off things to make sure he was okay living here. "Jazz, I'm fine. I've had a decent sleeping schedule - a lot better than back in Amity. The food here is great, but humans can't eat it it'd be toxic to them the only exception is me with the ectoplasm in my blood. And yes, there's bathrooms." He pointed to the portal that led back to the human world. "Now, please, head back. I have a lot of reading to do of Ghost Lore and that stuff. You know ... Prince stuff."

The three looked at each other before looking back at Danny.

"You'll visit, won't you?" His sister asked, almost pleading him.

He gave them a small smile and nodded. "Sure I will, Jazz. You guys can visit me too. You guys have special permission to enter the Zone whenever you like."

He looked over to Fright Knight; who hadn't moved from his side since everything that happened earlier. "That is correct. Prince Phantom has allowed you three special permission to enter whenever you like to see him due to your relationship with him."

Danny turned back to the three and smiled at them. "See?"

They nodded and smiled at one another before looking back at Danny and grinning. He blinked, frowning slightly before he was given a bear-like hug from the three. He cried out in surprise before laughing and grabbed onto them, tightly almost not wanting to let them go.

He really had missed them during this past month.

Now he had to say goodbye again...

"I'll ... see you guys then..."

"See you, Danny..."

They let go and the three headed for the portal as Danny waved them off.

It was a surprise for him when Jazz turned around gave him one last hug. "I can't believe my little brother is growing up. Good luck, Danny..."

"Thanks, Jazz..." He patted her back as she let go of him and headed through the portal.

Danny sighed, closing the portal before turning to Fright Knight with a smile on his face. "Well, that was ... eventful..."

"Indeed." There was silence between the two before something registered in the full ghost. "You missed your study session, so you will need to catch up."

Danny groaned, hanging his head as he followed his servant through the throne room. "Nearly got away with it too..."


	4. Overshadowing My Dead Body

**_Here's the Fourth chapter of SoE. This idea came to me when I thought along the premise of Danny dying in the portal accident. I have seen a few oneshots on Wattpad that have already done this, but they don't delve into Danny's psyche along with relationships with his family. I'll stop giving summaries in the ANs because I feel I give too much away. I'll just say what gave me the idea._**

**_Now to answer questions:-_**

**_Heavyweight asked - _**_"For your anime crossovers how about Black Lagoon, Highschool DXD, Highschool of the Dead, Tenchi Muyo and a crossover dealing with Rosario Vampire?"_

_**My response - I'm sorry that I can't do any of those crossovers as I haven't seen those Anime yet and I want to have seen the Anime that way I know who the characters are along with the world they're from. If you want I can put a poll up on my profile of all the crossover DP oneshots I plan to do just to make it easier for you and others? Would that be easier than commenting and then the next chapter finding out I haven't seen what you'd want me to write a crossover about? I've done it anyway😅**_

_**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**_

_**What-if Scenario - Corpse**_

_**Genre - Tragedy/Drama/Family**_

_**Word Count - 4,492 (Not including ANs)**_

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**_Story 4: Overshadowing My Dead Body_**

_Dear Daniel,_

_I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but when I collected some of your DNA and blood to - ehem - create a clone of you the results were unexpected. Your blood is slowly deteriorating. What this means is that the blood cells in your body are dying. Instead of doing what I had initially planned on doing I examined your blood samples to see what the problem was. What I found surprised me, but it made sense in a way - the portal accident you were in had a much higher voltage of ectoplasm and electricity than the one I was in. What I am trying to say is you died in that accident and somehow possessed your own body before your ghost went into the Ghost Zone. You may not like it, but you will have to tell them at some point, little badger. Your body is slowly decomposing and your ectoplasm is what's helping keep it stable since it's your own body, but sooner or later the wounds you get won't heal and will get worse for your body as it continues to start to look like a corpse._

_My sincerest apologies about this, dear boy,_

_Vlad Masters._

A messy, black haired teenager sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling; the letter he had received from his arch-enemy falling from his hands and landing on the wooden floorboards. He swallowed the saliva that had built up in his mouth as tears stung at the edge of his ice-blue eyes. He wiped at them, sniffing slightly.

"So that's why it won't go away..." His hands inched towards the edge of white shirt with red trims and pulled it up, showing an ugly slash mark from his mid-waist to his stomach. It wasn't bleeding. It was instead tinted an ugly green and yellow and the cut itself looked hollow as if nothing was inside him.

He pulled the shirt down and whimpered.

"So ... I'm dead..." He whispered to himself. "...and I've just been overshadowing my own corpse..." He winced at how wrong that sounded.

He never even knew he was dead.

Hell, even the ghosts thought he was half-ghost like Vlad.

This was so wrong.

It took a whole year to find this out.

And Vlad had to be the one to tell him ... by taking his blood without his permission.

However he knows now.

It still didn't make him feel any better.

He sat up and looked down at the letter that had been left on his desk when he got home from school. He turned his head away from it, biting his lower lip. "No matter how much I hate to admit it ... Vlad's right. I have to tell them about this. Who knows when my body will decompose completely..." He shuddered at the thought.

Should he tell them now or leave it a little while?

He put a hand down to where his wound was, frowning when he didn't really feel any pain.

He closed his eyes and trembled.

"I guess my body is slowly starting to catch up..."

He shook his head as the tears finally trickled down his cheeks.

Danny knew that he probably should tell his friends and family as soon as possible, but ... he only just received this news.

He needed time to process this.

It was probably stupid of him to keep it to himself, but finding out that you're dead and overshadowing your own corpse ... you need time to yourself...

**_SOE_**

It has been two weeks since Danny received the letter from Vlad; he still went to school, hung out with his friends and fought ghosts like nothing was bothering him. But when he was alone in the bathroom during the times he took his showers he would check his body to see if anymore places had decomposed.

Sadly, it turned out that his body wasn't holding up as good as it used to.

The slash mark he had received from Skulker the day before he got the letter looked worse; it looked as though it had ripped down towards his abdomen and across to the other side of his stomach.

It was probably from all the times Dash punched him there during daily beatings.

A new wound was now on the left side of his chest in the shape of a hole from being shot there by an ectoblast a couple days ago; the skin was flaking away, showing the hollowness and bone underneath.

That wound was near his collar for his shirt and the bruising kept rising, so he had to wear turtlenecks now.

All through the two weeks he had been thinking over how to come clean with his parents about his secret.

He didn't know how to.

It scared him that they wouldn't believe him and would jump to the conclusion that Phantom had killed him as Fenton; not even noticing how decomposed his body was.

He took in a shuddering breath as he slipped his black turtleneck back over his head and headed out of the bathroom, towards his room. He stopped in the hallway to give his sister's room a slight glance._ 'Maybe ... Jazz can help me explain to them ... once I get the guts up to tell her...'_

He opened his bedroom door, closing it behind him and leaned against it as a sigh escaped his mouth however a cough came out instead. He put a hand to his mouth, coughing into it and coughing consistently for what felt like hours, but was only five minutes. He stopped coughing to find himself breathing raggedly and that he was on the floor.

He sat up, pulling his turtleneck down and hitching his breath when he saw that there was decomposed skin on his neck.

No wonder he had started coughing like that.

It was so close to his voice box; where he breathed.

He let his turtleneck go as it hit him ... corpses don't need to breath, so why did he need to bother?

_'I guess I'm so used to it now I can't let it go...' _He felt the tears prick at his eyes once more.

He was such a coward.

His body was decomposing and he wasn't coming clean with anybody about it.

"Danny?" A voice called out to him from the other side of his door. He turned his head, slowly, at hearing his sister's voice, widening his eyes. "Are you alright? I heard you coughing in here."

"I...I..." He began, but stopped himself.

This would be a good time to finally come clean, tell his sister and she would help him explain it to Sam and Tucker along with their parents.

He bit his bottom lip as these thoughts continued to surround his mind.

But ... he didn't want his sister to worry and ... he didn't want her to cry at finding out he was really dead.

"I'm fine, Jazz..." He told her, his voice was calm and determined, but his core wasn't truly in it.

He was scared.

Terrified.

"Okay, if you're sure." He hear her footsteps leave the front of his room.

He put his head in his hands and shook, curling into a ball as tears fell down his cheeks. "I'm not ... I'm not sure..."

**_SOE_**

Danny continued this routine for the next week.

He noticed his friends giving him concerned looks as he never ate at lunch or when they went to Nasty Burger, his coughing fits became worse to a point where Mr Lancer even sent him to the school nurse but he just said he caught something on the way home.

Whenever he did get home he always got worried glances from Jazz, especially when he skipped dinner and wasn't seen again until the next morning.

It was like he was purposely avoiding them.

The worst of it was his parents; who upon noticing his strange behavior had thought he was overshadowed which wasn't far from the truth.

He _was_ overshadowed, but it was his own corpse he was overshadowing.

He had noticed how his hunger had diminished day after day as each of his insides turned to mush.

It was getting harder for him to talk as his voice box collapsed in on itself.

Everything inside his body was stopping as his body continued to decompose.

He noticed how bits of his hair had fallen out one morning after he fell off of bed; it wasn't much to notice, but if it continued ... it would be a problem.

His eyes were also becoming sunken as if they too were dying which meant it'd be a matter of time when his eyes would be nothing, but hollowed out sockets.

It was all becoming very real to Danny at this point.

He couldn't prolong it any longer and he knew it.

It was scary to think about and he had wanted not to think about it, but whenever he looked in the mirror the reality always hit him.

He was dead.

He had overshadowed his own corpse on accident and never knew.

He still needed to be reminded on that fact, but that didn't mean he didn't like it.

As Danny sat on his bed; these thoughts going through his head he took in a shuddering breath and stood up. He walked over to his door, opening it and headed over to his sister's room.

He didn't just wear turtlenecks now, but also sunglasses to hide how sunken his eyes were becoming; his hair was still fine, but it was greasy and stringy as though it could fall out in clumps if pulled upon.

He took in a breath before knocking on her door. "Jazz, it's me." His voice was raspy since his voice box was collapsing.

He had to do this now while he could still talk.

They wouldn't believe him if he just wrote notes.

Well, his parents may not believe him anyway...

"Come in, Danny," Her voice was soft and concerned and he knew why.

He opened the door, walking in and closing it behind him. He turned his head away from his sister as she turned around in her chair from her desk to face him.

"Are you finally going to tell me what's been wrong with you lately?"

He nodded his head at her, biting his bottom lip. "I...I had a lot on my mind and I...I needed to think it over..."

Her cyan eyes scanned over him as though inspecting him and trying to pinpoint what was wrong with her brother. "So, what's wrong?"

He tensed his shoulders and hiccupped as though about to cry, but knew he couldn't.

His tear-ducts had dried up days ago.

"Jazz, I'm sorry I kept this from you, Mum, Dad and Sam and Tucker..." He knew he was rambling, but he couldn't help himself. If he could stop himself from getting to the truth. "I...I was just so caught up in what I found out that I was freaked out. I didn't know how to explain it let alone to Mum and Dad..."

Jazz stood up from her chair and grabbed her brother's shoulders; who looked up at her with wide eyes under his sunglasses. "What are you going on about, Danny? Why are you sorry?"

He hiccupped again as his hands lifted up and grabbed a hold of his sister. "Jazz, I...I don't know how to say this, but..."

She shushed him as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. "Just tell me what's wrong, okay." What caught her off-guard was a clump of her brother's hair coming off his head and falling to the floor of her room. She stared at the clump of hair as his own eyes couldn't stop going from between his sister and the clump of hair. "Danny, what...?"

He took his arms away from her as he backed into the door, trembling. "I'm sorry, Jazz! I'm so sorry!"

Jazz was now confused; between the clump of hair that fell from his head and his behavior.

_'He can't have cancer because apparently he can't get sick anymore...'_ She thought to herself as she looked back to her brother. "Danny, please, just tell me what's going on?"

The teenager nodded his head at her, sniffling. "I...I got a letter from Vlad saying that he took some of my blood and did some thorough research over it..." Jazz looked angry at the fact that Vlad had taken her brother's blood, but allowed him to continue. "...it said that my cells are dying. That when I went into the portal..." He lowered his head. "...I died in there and I somehow overshadowed my own corpse..."

The older Fenton sibling frowned at hearing this, shaking her head as though that was ridiculous. "How do you know that he didn't just trick you, Danny?"

His mouth went into a thin line as he grabbed the edge of his black turtleneck and pulled the shirt up, revealing the large ugly slash wound along his stomach and towards his abdomen. Jazz's eyes widened, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at the wound that was mixed with green and yellow with flesh flaking off.

"It's because it's true. My body is slowly decomposing. That's why I'm wearing turtlenecks, why I haven't been eating and why I wear sunglasses..." He pulled the shirt back down and took his sunglasses off to reveal the sunken white eyes underneath. His once beautiful ice-blue eyes were now completely white reminding Jazz of a zombie.

"Danny, your eyes..." She gasped, staring at them. He put his sunglasses back on, nodding at her as if he already knew.

"Yea, I know..." His raspy voice spoke and Jazz winced now knowing why he spoke less now and never ate anymore. "...they look empty, soulless..."

He lowered his head, dismayed.

A silence befell the two and Jazz bit her lip.

How could she cheer her younger brother up.

Not only that ... he had been dead for a whole year...

"So, you only just found out about this?" She didn't want to blame Danny for not telling her, but she could tell the weight of finding out he was really dead all this time had started to get to him.

"Three weeks ago I found out and I've been thinking over how to tell you guys. The first few days I was trying to get over it..." He chuckled, no matter how morbid it sounded to Jazz's ears. "...imagine that I was grieving my own death when I've been dead for a year..."

"Danny..."

"I...I can't cry anymore, Jazz..." He told her, biting his bottom lip. "I want to, but my tear-ducts are gone..."

His body shuddered, feeling that familiar emotion to cry and yet couldn't.

Jazz knew what she had to do.

She walked forward and wrapped her arms around her brother as he trembled into her arms.

"I'm scared, Jazz. I don't want to tell Mum and Dad. I'm technically a ghost possessing my own corpse. They might not ... believe me..."

Jazz widened her eyes at what her brother said.

Her mind raced through all these thoughts; her brother was dead and his ghost had just been overshadowing his body.

It wasn't that scary however now that his body is decomposing she could see why Danny was freaking out.

"Danny, we have to tell them. It's not right to keep this from them." She felt him shudder in her grasp again and sighed. "I...I also don't want it to be too late to tell them. When your body is completely decomposed ... it will freak them out."

Danny nodded his head at her. "C...Can you help me explain?" He looked up at her almost pleading her to as he rubbed a hand across his throat. "It gets hard to talk now..."

She smiled at her little brother with a solemn smile on her face. "Sure, little brother."

They let go of each other and headed out of Jazz's room and down the stairs, noticing that their parents were neither in the kitchen or the living room which left the lab. The two looked at each other as Jazz gave Danny a comforting smile, patting his shoulder as if to tell him she'll get them and he just had to wait in the lounge.

He did just that.

He sat down on the armchair, so that he was across from his parents when they came in.

The youngest Fenton could already feel his nerves twitching, telling him to run for the hills, but he stayed.

He had to.

He had to do this.

Otherwise his parents would never know.

His hands gripped the arms of the armchair as he thought about his friends; he had to tell them at some point too.

He couldn't forget about them.

The sound of bounding footsteps made him turn his head to see his parents hurrying into the living room to him. He didn't want to think of the excuse that Jazz had told them to get them hurrying up here to him.

"Danny, what's wrong!?"

"Is it a ghost?!"

His eyes went over to Jazz as she simply gave him a shrug. He turned his attention back to his parents and let out a short sigh. "I...I need to tell you guys something and it's very important..."

The two Fenton parents looked at each other before walking over to the couch and sitting on it as Jazz leaned on the edge of the right armrest beside him. "So, what is it? School? Ghosts? Friends?" His Mother started rambling which caused the siblings to glance at each other.

"The second one..." He mumbled out his answer which caused both his parents to stand up instantly.

"Young man, why didn't you tell us about this ghost?!"

"What ghost? Was it that Phantom kid!?"

Danny winced at his parents and gestured for them to sit back down and they did so. "I...I'm sorry." The two Fenton parents looked confused at their son's apology. "I've been lying to you for over a year now. I didn't realize until three weeks ago that I had to tell you..."

As Danny talked; his parents froze with many thoughts going through their heads.

Maddie was glaring at her son as the thought that he was doing drugs and being involved in gangs went through her head while Jack was smiling proudly that his son was finally becoming a ghost hunter like them.

"Just _what_ have you been lying about, young man?" Maddie questioned Danny, eyeing him. "You being out past curfew and sneaking out at night, so am I to assume that it's to do with gangs and drugs?"

Danny blinked, shocked at what his Mother even suggested he had done.

Jazz was even surprised.

Danny waved his hands about, shaking his head, carefully not to do too much as his neck was becoming so decomposed his head could disconnect.

"No, Mum, that's not it at all!" He exclaimed, swallowing roughly.

"THEN IT'S GOTTA BE GHOST HUNTING!" Jack shouted, throwing a thumbs-up sign at Danny as the teen stared at him.

He slumped in the arm chair, looking away. "That's partially it..."

"Partially!" Maddie exclaimed, frowning. "What else is there?" She was now worried.

She had never seen her son at any spots ghosts were spotted only Phantom and the ghost he was fighting.

Danny picked at a spot on the armrest, not looking at his parents. "Y...You know the accident I had last year with the portal?" He gazed up at his parents as they nodded. "Well, it wasn't just a light zap. I was inside when it turned on ... I was electrocuted..."

Maddie and Jack stared at Danny before gasping. "Oh Danny..."

His Mother went to get up to hug her son, but noticed Danny wasn't done yet.

"I at first thought I was fine. That it only changed my molecular structure and gave me ghost powers..." His parents looked at him funny as if that was impossible. "But ... I got a letter from someone who said that they analyzed my blood. As it turned out my blood cells are dying and ... during the accident I basically died and my ghost overshadowed my corpse..."

He looked over to his parents to see their reactions, but they just stared at him before finally bursting out laughing.

It wasn't a laughing matter to him.

He was dead and he basically possessed his own corpse without knowing.

He didn't know for a whole year.

Jazz frowned at her parents, gritting her teeth together and about to yell at them when Maddie stopped, frowning at Danny. "Danny, that was good, but not funny. Don't scare us like that."

"I'm not..."

"Daniel Fenton, stop this right now!"

If Danny could cry he would.

He wanted to so badly.

His bottom lip trembled as he tried to think of a response to his Mum.

_'No words are better than proof...' _He thought to himself, bitterly.

With that thought he brought his turtleneck up and showed them the same ugly slash he'd shown Jazz.

The one he received three weeks ago and had continued to get worse.

"Y...You think this is a joke now!?" He exclaimed, trembling and glaring at them from behind his sunglasses as they stared at the slash. "I...I'm dead! I never even knew! I thought I was okay! And now ... my body is decomposing!" He hiccupped as if he wanted to cry. "I...I'm just some post-human consciousness overshadowing my own corpse!"

He let the shirt fall from his grip and over his body, covering the ugly marks up as he covered his face in his hands; wishing he could cry again.

His sister wrapped her arms around him, noticing how upset he was.

Danny looked up from his hands and noticed how his parents hadn't moved as if they'd gone into shock.

He swallowed and coughed a bit, hoping they didn't try killing him as a ghost.

They had already tried, but now they'll know it's him.

"No, it can't be true..." His Mother muttered out, shaking her head at this as tears welled up in her eyes.

She was trying to deny that he was dead, but Danny noticed how his Dad stared at him.

It wasn't the usual expression you see on Jack Fenton; he was frowning, concerned.

"So, Danny, if you stop overshadowing your body..." It seemed his Dad wasn't denying it. The wounds on his body were proof enough that his body was a decomposing corpse.

"J...Jack, don't say that!" Maddie cried out, hitting him. She turned to Danny as tears fell down her cheeks. "Danny, tell me it's just make-up and you pranked us! Don't tell me our invention..." She whimpered. "...killed you..."

"I...I haven't tried it yet..." He mumbled out the answer to his Dad's question and trying his hardest not to look at his sobbing Mum. "I thought it'd be too freaky..."

"Danny, I know it's hard for you, but you need to stop possessing your corpse," Jazz told him, hugging him as he whimpered.

"I...I..." He whimpered out, clutching Jazz tighter. "It's hard. I feel like I'm also grieving even though it's me..."

"Danny-boy, do it..."

He looked to his parents and noticed how wrecked his Mother looked.

She was sobbing into Jack's arm, still denying it.

Danny swallowed and nodded, pushing Jazz away from him; who gave him a frown. "I don't want you hugging a corpse when I'm out." He looked at his parents and looked away. "I'm sorry ... and the ghost that comes out is me ... has always been..."

He squeezed his eyes shut, gripped the armrests tighter as the familiar pulling sensation came only this time ... he felt free.

He felt a rush go through him at the sudden sensation as if his ectoplasm was swirling in joy.

He didn't have to worry about covering up wounds anymore.

Danny opened his eyes and looked around, noticing he was above the armchair as his parents stared up at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

His gaze lowered to the armchair as he noticed his body there, slumped against the pillows and head bent forward.

He lowered himself to the armchair's level as a grim expression spread across his face.

His glowing acid, green eyes looked over to his parents. _"I'm sorry..."_ His bottom lip trembled, he closed his eyes as he felt the familiar prick of tears come that he has missed. _"I never wanted to tell you, but I had to..." _His voice had a distinct ghostly-echo to it along with a white glow around his body.

He felt someone wrap an arm around him which he noticed was his sister and smiled.

Before long their parents joined in, expressing how sorry they were about shooting at him and calling him such insulting things since the didn't know.

He sniffed and kept smiling, but glanced at his body before turning his attention back to his family. _"I...I'm sorry that you have to make funeral arrangements for me now..." _He lowered his head, feeling a heavy weight of guilt on his shoulders.

"It...It's fine, Danny..." His Mother told him, wrapping him in hug even though he was cold to the touch.

_"But ... it's my fault. I went in. It's my fault I died..." _

"Danny-boy, we created the portal," His Father began as his giant hand landed on his shoulder. "If anything it's our fault."

Danny turned his head away, not agreeing with that.

"How about we agree to disagree?" They turned to face Jazz as she had her arms folded, frowning at them. "I don't like this stupid blame game you guys are pulling already."

Danny chuckled and nodded. _"Okay, Jazz."_ He eyed his corpse once more and winced. _"I...I want to know..."_ They looked at him, concerned expressions on their faces as they had seen him look at his body. _"Where do we go from here?"_


	5. Experience Says More Than Words

_**Here**__**'s the next chapter for SoE and I kind of got this idea from reading a few DP future stories. The only thing is that in those Danny and Sam 'did it' while Danny was in ghost form and I thought that its kind of weird as we don't really know what ghosts in the GZ are whether they're spirits of dead people or created from ectoplasm. I think Butch Hartman mentioned it more on the ectoplasm part, so Danny basically just has powers while in another form, but we fans just like to theorise and stuff.**_

_**And there's seriously something wrong with me. I can't do 'happy-go-lucky' stories. I want to, but my mind goes towards tragedy instead. Why I like torturing my favourite characters so much? I don't know. But I'll try and give these oneshots variety.**_

_**I also really enjoy future AUs, so if you want to see anymore consisting of Danny's kids in the other AU or even this one just ask. I'd be happy to write it. 😋 Or any suggestions would be nice since I run out of ideas and hearing what you guys want would be nice. Right now, I'm currently focusing on mainly DP oneshots and I'll get to crossovers later. **_

_**Now onto the questions:- **_

_**Superhero geek Asked - '**__Can we get a part 2 where __Sam, Tucker and the students of Casper High find out?'_

_**My response - I wasn't planning on it, but I'll see what I can do about doing a Part II to that oneshot in the future. I did like it a lot, but I like all my oneshots, so yea😋**_

_**Anyways, enjoy!**_

_**Couple - Mentions of AmethystOcean**_

_**Genre - Family/Drama**_

_**Word Count - 6,978 (Not including ANs)**_

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_**Story 5: Experience Says More Than Words **_

"Daddy, look!" A small boy with stark, white hair with a black strip in his fringe and purple eyes mixed with green. He wore a green hoodie and black pants as he pranced around in the white wasteland. "I'm making twacks!"

A young man followed close behind the boy, a soft smile at the edge of his lips as he watched the boy.

This young man was Danny Fenton or was also know as Danny Phantom; ghostly protector of Amity Park.

Or was...

Five years ago, he and his high school sweetheart; Samantha Manson; who he'd been dating since senior year, decided to take things to the next level in their relationship.

It was fine since Sam was taking birth control and Danny always used a condom.

However the one time the two decided to be experimental when they tried doing it while Danny was in his other form ... Sam ended up pregnant.

It was unplanned.

They didn't know what to do.

Sam declined abortion and Danny hesitantly agreed.

However it wasn't without drawbacks.

The pregnancy only lasted four and a half months due to it having half of Danny's DNA and with the two rooming together in the same apartment for University they could get away with hiding it.

But not forever...

Danny had noticed how sick Sam had been throughout the pregnancy and continued to worsen as her due date got closer.

She would vomit up ectoplasm.

Punch him a little too hard when having a mood-swing.

And sometimes she would glow.

The powers were faint in Sam, but Danny could tell it was _all_ from the baby.

She had even said that whenever it kicked it was harder than it should be.

So when it did get to when she had to give birth to their son ... the strain was too much for her body.

She passed shortly after holding their son and helping Danny name him.

This led Danny to do one last thing.

He took their son, left his family a note and ran away to the Ghost Zone.

He knew he'd be welcomed by the FarFrozen and that always relaxed him.

He didn't run away from the responsibility of telling his parents.

No...

He ran away because he was afraid.

His son would give him away.

Or his parents might think Sam cheated on him when she didn't.

The boy was _his_ son; his and Sam's.

"Just be sure not to slip, Connor," Danny called out to his son as he heard a small 'okay' in return. He turned his attention to look in the direction of where the Fenton Portal was located. '_I'm surprised they haven't tried coming in here yet_,' he thought to himself.

The note he had left had been simple.

He didn't want to be found and that he would miss them.

That was it.

He wouldn't be surprised if his parents ignored his note altogether, thinking he was kidnapped by his ghost half and rushed in here.

He let out a long sigh, "Then again I probably _should_ visit Sam at some point..." He turned his gaze back to his son with sad blue eyes. '_He needs to know why his Mother isn't around..._'

"Daddy!" The young man blinked, realising he had been lost in thought and looked down at his son; whose white hair seemed to blend in with the snow except for the strip of black along his fringe. "It's my pwesen' day soon." The boy looked away from his Father, appearing shy and Danny knew he got that side from him. "C...Can we go somewhewe special?"

Danny kept his gaze on his son before a soft chuckle escaped his lips and he lowered himself to Connor's height. The boy's purple-green eyes stared into his Father's blue ones. "It's not present day, Connor. It's your Birthday. The day you came into this world on. You get presents on it because its a special day to celebrate your birth."

The boy blinked, staring at Danny with wide eyes.

A soft smile appeared across Danny's lips as he lifted his left arm and ruffled his son's hair causing him to giggle. "Alright, where do you want to go, Kiddo?"

The boy thought about his Father's suggestion, wondering where he wanted to go. It finally clicked in his head. "Ou'side!" He exclaimed.

This only caused Danny to stare at his son with a confused frown on his face. "What?"

"I weally wanna go see wha's ou'side!" His son exclaimed again, grinning from ear to ear.

Danny's hand dropped from his son's head and he sighed.

He knew this would happen one day.

He never really explained where they were to him.

His son just grew used to being around Frostbite and the other Yeti-like ghosts in the FarFrozen that he must've thought they were in a frozen wonderland.

Some of his enemies had even come by when Connor was still a baby after they heard he left and wanted to give him condolences, but also congratulations.

It freaked him out at how much Ember and Kitty were reduced to a cooing mess at the sight of Connor.

His son was just too young to understand that he was in another dimension, but if he was truly his and Sam's son he might understand...

"Umm ... Connor, we're actually in another dimension," Danny explained to his son as the boy stared up at his Father. "It's called the Ghost Zone; a place where ghosts reside. The place I think you want to go to is ... the Human World, right?"

The boy looked as though in thought before a slight frown crossed his innocent features and he nodded. "I tink so..."

Danny chuckled at this and stood back up to his full height of 6'4". It would be hard for a four-year old to understand, but he tried. Connor would understand better as he got older.

The boy seemed to have forgotten about the conversation they just had and ran off once more into the snowy wasteland of the FarFrozen with Danny watching him.

It was true that kids had a one-track mind and Danny was victim to it more than once.

His son had indeed shown signs of ghost powers when he was young and still did, but Connor didn't know what they meant.

Danny would keep it that way until the boy was old enough to understand where his powers came from and how much danger he'd be in if he was irresponsible with them.

He didn't want his son to get hurt because of his powers.

Because the boy got them from him...

A puff of light moisture exited Danny's lips; Danny knew what this was. His ghost sense and there were only few ghosts that approached him when he was alone with his son.

No one wanted to see an overly-protective Daddy Phantom.

The only ghosts Danny allowed to approach him were those of the FarFrozen, but even they strayed away as if afraid that one touch on the young hybrid would cause the wrath of the older one; only Frostbite would dare go near Danny anymore along with some frequent visits from Kitty and Ember to see how the 'mini-Phantom' was.

He had yet to see Clockwork...

"Good day to you, Great One!" The giant Yeti exclaimed, raising one of his clawed paws in greeting to the half-breed. Danny nodded his head at the Chief of the FarFrozen with a small smile, turning his gaze back to his son. "I didn't mean to overhear you two on my way over, but will you do as your son wishes?"

A solemn look crossed Danny's expression as his ice-blue eyes continued to stay on his son's location. "I want to, but he's too young to understand the concept of another dimension. Kids his age are usually afraid of the unknown; ghosts and such." He let out a soft sigh. "I know I was at his age. Now _I'm_ half-ghost and raising my half-ghost son among ghosts. Most kids would freak, but he's taking it as if it's ... normal..."

"Maybe because it is..." Danny turned his head to the Yeti with a confused frown on his face. "It would be normal for you, so you would have passed that down to your son." Frostbite gestured to the boy now rolling around in the snow, trying to make a snow-angel.

Danny turned his attention back to the boy and smiled. Though his gaze darted to the snowy ground under his boots and sighed. "That may be, but he's still only four. He still won't comprehend the meaning of death until he's at least eight..."

"Great One..." Danny glanced up at the ghost that had been his Mentor for his ice powers. "...I can tell you're scared of what your family will say, but you have to stop hiding here. Go to them and tell them the truth. It'll be easier that way..." He looked over to the little boy in the snow. "...for you both."

This only caused Danny to run a hand through his raven locks, glancing at his son. "I've thought over it _so _many times, but I'm just afraid that they won't accept me. If they don't accept me then..."

Frostbite shook his head as the halfa started rambling on about how terrified he was of what his parents would do if they found out. He slapped a hand on the young man's shoulder, causing him to cease his rambling and look up at the Yeti's grinning face. "How about instead of worrying about it you can try and tell them. I'm sure it'll work out, Great One!"

Danny blinked up at the Yeti before a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Thanks, Frostbite. I needed that..."

**_SOE_**

The day finally came where Danny decided to take his son out of the Ghost Zone for his Birthday. The young man had learned how to tell when day turned to night as he stayed in the Ghost Zone for the past five years. It wasn't that hard. The sky was bright green during the day and at night it changed to a darker green; Frostbite had explained to him that it had to do with the ectoplasm throughout the Zone. Since it was a mirror version of the Human World it would have it's own version of night and day.

Danny had decided to take the Infi-Map that way he wouldn't have to change into his ghost form and show his son that he could fly.

It also meant he didn't have to go through his parents portal.

He _really _didn't want the reunion to be this early...

So, Danny had grabbed his son, tightly, around the waist and told him to hold onto him as he told the map to find a portal that led to Amity Park, present day.

He had to be specific with the date.

He didn't want a repeat of the Infinity Map incident with Vlad.

Once the Map had found the portal; the two went through it and Danny quickly put the map in a small backpack he was given to put it inside. The raven-haired young man eyed their surroundings, smiling slightly when he noticed they were just on the outskirts of the town ... near the cemetery.

Right where he wanted to be.

No one was ever really around this part of town unless they wanted to visit a loved one at the cemetery.

Why it was built at the edge of town he never understood.

He quickly grabbed his son's hand and began heading in the direction of the large, tall gates. "Wha' was tha'? Whewe we gowe?" His son questioned him as they headed through the tall gates. The boy took notice of all the stones and creepy-looking trees and immediately held onto his Father's hand tighter, clutching his shirt as well.

Danny just chuckled at his action. '_He can handle ghosts, but not a cemetery..._' Danny thought to himself, smiling down at his son. "We're going to visit someone important to the both of us."

The boy looked up at Danny with wide, confused eyes, but Danny could see the slight hint of excitement hidden behind the confusion and fear. He kept the smile on his face as he kept a firm hold on his son's hand and moved through the throng of tombstones.

As the two slowed down to a stop in front of a black stone with violet writing carved into the it. Danny kneeled down, creating an ice rose in his hand after making sure his son was distracted by looking around. The young man placed the ice rose before the stone and sat before it as his son stared at his Father, blinking.

"Daddy?" The boy asked, confused at what Danny was doing.

A soft smile crawled across Danny's face. "This is your Mother, Connor." He turned his head to face the boy with a sad smile. "She's not here with us because..." He thought about what to say to his four-going-on-five son. "...she's sleeping right now..."

The boy blinked his eyes, still seeming confused. "Whewe ish she? I wanna see Mama."

"You can't," Danny said, sadly, shaking his head. "She's somewhere no one can disturb her."

The boy's bottom lip wobbled and Danny could tell he was about to cry.

This was the first time he had mentioned Sam to Connor and he couldn't let him see her past a gravestone because she wasn't really sleeping.

'_How can you explain death to a child...?_' Danny thought to himself as he pulled the boy into a hug, letting him sob, quietly into his shirt. He pat the sobbing boy on the back, trying his best to shush him.

However Danny knew better.

A Mother's touch to comfort their crying child worked wonders.

His 'Father's' touch worked, but not to the great affect Sam's would've if she were here.

He rubbed circles around Connor's back, trying his best to calm his son down; slowly noticing how the boy's sobs were getting quieter and his body was leaning into him. Danny smiled as he wrapped his arms under the small child, lifting him into his arms as the boy's eyes finally fell into that last bit of exhaustion. He wiped stray tears from Connor's eyes, smiling sadly, at the boy in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Connor. You'll understand when you're older..."

Danny stood up to his full height, gazing at the headstone once more with sad eyes before turning his head away. A long sigh left his lips as he slid his backpack off of his shoulder, ready to take the Infi-Map out of it and head back into the Ghost Zone.

He really didn't want to head back already, but his son was already sleeping and he felt he'd ruined the day for him.

He would also avoid any confrontation with his family that way.

"Danny...?" Said young man froze at the voice, recognizing it almost instantly.

Or so he thought...

The half-breed turned his head to see a young woman, standing behind him, hands over her mouth as tears appeared at the edge of her eyes. Her orange hair was cut at her shoulders and she had aqua-coloured eyes. She wore tight-fitting jeans with a short-sleeved V-neck with a beautiful crochet slung over as a jumper.

She just stared at him; eyes wide as her tears finally fell.

She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

It was he instead that took the reigns with a short sigh and smile, "Hi Jazz. It's been a while..."

This seemed to make the woman angry, glaring at him through angry tears. "'A while'? It's been _five _years, Danny?!" She exclaimed, shaking her head at him, hands shaking at her sides. "Do you know how we felt when we found your letter? We didn't know whether it was really you that wrote it or that you were kidnapped! I get that you were nineteen at the time and needed space, especially after Sam..." She shook her head at him. "That didn't mean you had to run away! We're family! You can tell me anything, Danny!"

Danny's eyebrows rose into his hairline and looked at her stomach, trying to find any confirmation of what he was thinking while she still rambled on. '_She was never this emotional..._'

"Danny, are you listening to me!?" She exclaimed, folding her arms across her chest.

'_Yep, definitely seems that way. I remember how Sam was and Jazz is acting all moody. It explains the baggy clothes..._' He shook his head at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Jazz, if I explain why I left will you leave it be?"

"It depends," She stated, frowning at him.

She was basically telling him if it was a stupid reason then she'd continue to chastise and reprimand him.

Great...

"Jazz, I'm twenty-four. I may be younger than you, but I'm no longer the little brother that once clung to your arm," He responded as though trying to be sassy.

His sister's breath hitched in her throat as thoughts of a long forgotten future rolled through her mind.

He _was _the same age as **_HIM _**after all.

"I've grown up."

"Huh?" Was her short and unintelligent response.

She was confused.

Of course, he'd grown up.

He was taller than her now and had grown a fair bit of muscle that made even Paulina turn her head towards 'Freaky Fenton' when he was a senior at Casper.

His voice had deepened also, but not to the extent that it was the same baritone voice of **_HIM_**, but still held a bit of lightness that the old Danny had as he talked.

Every boy as they got older went through these things.

It was probably hard for her to see her baby brother get this tall when he used to be so scrawny.

He was now around the same height as their Father.

"Jazz, I don't mean physically..." She blinked at him, still confused. He rubbed behind his head; a nervous tick he's had since he was little. "I mean I've grown up mentally ... on the inside..."

The older of the two Fentons stared at her younger brother, blinking her eyes in shock. "I understand you have to grow up, Danny, but..."

He chuckled and shook his head at her. "It's not what you think, Jazz. I kind of had to..."

Before she could open her mouth to respond with another question. He turned around to fully face his older sister and Jazz could finally see who was cuddled up into Danny's arms. The young woman noticed the white hair with a black streak being blown in the wind along with the light skin tone that matched both Danny and Sam's. She stared down at the boy in her brother's arms, noticing how young he was before her eyes looked back up to her brother.

"Danny, is he...?" She left the question unanswered as Danny nodded his head at her.

"Yes, he's my son. Mine and Sam's." He turned his head to gaze at the headstone. "The reason I left is because I needed to think over how to explain to Mum and Dad about..." He looked down at his son. "...he has Phantom's hair and they would think that Sam cheated on me. I didn't want that and I didn't know how they would take my secret, so I left for the Ghost Zone and stayed with Frostbite."

Jazz seemed to be examining her recently discovered nephew with her eyes. "_Why _does he have Phantom's hair?" She asked, curious to know.

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from his sister as a blush appeared on his cheeks. "Sam and I wanted to see what it was like while I was in Phantom form and it was also the only time she got pregnant from it. She was on birth control until then and I guess she didn't notice when it stopped."

His sister nodded, seeming to understand, though was still upset with him.

He was only nineteen when he became a Father.

He had all this responsibility shoved onto him and had no one to turn to for help because he was scared their parents would shun him for being Phantom.

He could of at least spoken to her about it...

"What's his name?" Danny blinked, staring down at his sister with wide eyes. "Come on, Danny. I would like to know the name of my nephew." She frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips.

He gave her a sad smile and nodded. "It's Connor...Connor Fenton." He turned his head to Sam's grave. "Sam helped name him before..."

"Oh Danny..."

He turned his head to face his sister once more. "So, why are you here?" He asked his sister. "I came here because ... it's Connor's birthday and I thought he might want to know about Sam..." He lowered his head a bit. "...even though a kid his age doesn't understand the concept of death..."

Jazz seemed to shift uncomfortably as her eyes lay on Sam's grave. "I usually come here on this day and talk to Sam, sometimes pray that you're okay..." The tears came back and Danny turned his head away from his sister, not wanting to see her cry. "I'm glad that you're here and alright, Danny."

He nodded, solemnly, at her.

She grabbed hold of one of his slightly, bulky arms as her brother looked down at her and Jazz just gave him a pleading look. "Danny, I know you're thinking of leaving again, but _please _... stay..."

He swallowed the saliva that had built up in his mouth, looking away from his sister before a sigh left his throat. "I...I guess so..."

The only response he got from Jazz was a large grin spreading across her face as she led him out of the cemetery.

Danny turned his head to look back at the stone, smiled and headed after his sister.

'_Maybe things will turn out fine. Maybe I was worrying too much..._'

_**SOE**_

Once they arrived at the Fenton residence; Jazz had told Danny that she would go in ahead of him to tell their parents of a 'surprise visitor'. He knew that they always stayed down in the lab working on inventions, so all he had to do was sneak in and sit himself down in the lounge area. However he first phased up to the second floor and snuck into his old room. He was instantly hit with a bunch of nostalgia at seeing the old NASA posters, his old desk and bed still out ... the way he had left it.

A smile came onto his face as he approached his old bed and lay his son down on it, gently, laying him under the covers and spreading them over him.

It was as if they knew he'd come back...

He took a deep breath, combing his son's hair as if to give him reassurance before phasing back down to the first floor, invisibly, so that no one saw him and made his way to the living room.

He noticed that no one was up yet, sighing in relief as he sat down on the couch and made himself visible again.

So now he just had to make sure he was mentally ready for this.

Was he?

Was he ready to finally face his parents after five years of hiding away?

He didn't know...

He didn't want to tell them his secret, but they would jump to conclusions about Connor's Father; which is actually him after seeing his hair.

That would put him in quite the predicament and it'd be even worse if Connor was awake for it.

He wouldn't understand any of what they were talking about.

He could already feel the sweat starting to build up on his forehead and palms at feeling so nervous.

He has to calm down and breath.

At the sound of approaching footsteps coming up from the basement; Danny stood up straight against the back of the couch, swallowed and tried his best not to look so nervous.

But that was better said than done...

The first of his family to enter the main house was his sister; who gave him a reassuring smile when she saw him tensing up.

He could tell what was going to come.

His parents; his Mother mostly would yell at him for 'running away' straight after Sam had passed.

Yes, he didn't go to the funeral, but he knew Sam wouldn't have mind him not going if he had to take care of Connor along with figure out what to do with himself.

She was always like that.

She would want him to think of himself before her.

But since he left with only leaving a note behind ... it was obvious he was going to be yelled at.

'_Might as well brace myself for it..._' He thought to himself, wincing.

"D...Danny...?"

He broke out of his thoughts to look over to the edge of the living room to see that both of his parents were now standing there and Jazz had just sat down beside him on the couch. It was his Mother who had spoken as her purple eyes scanned his form to make sure it wasn't some stranger that had wandered into their house. His Father just looked between dumbfounded and wanting to rush into the kitchen for some fudge to celebrate his son's return home.

Maddie approached the young man sitting on the couch beside her daughter and put her hand on his cheek as he averted his eyes. "Is it really you, Danny?"

He gave a small nod to her question.

Here it came.

The yelling.

It wasn't what he was dreading, but it was coming.

However what he wasn't expecting was for his Mother to pull her arm back and give him a back hand to the cheek. He winced and put a hand to his now red cheek, staring at his Mother in shock, but stopped at noticing the tears streaming down her eyes.

"How dare you just up and leave like that?!" She shouted, shoulders shaking. "That note you left ... didn't even tell us if you were okay! How could you do that to us!" He stared at his Mother as she burst into tears before him. He'd never seen her like this before and it was all his fault. She fell forward and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. "B...But you came back ... after so long. I'm ... so glad t...that you're alright, Danny..."

He opened his mouth to try and say something, but hesitated.

He swallowed and tried again.

"I'm sorry, but there was some stuff I had to figure out..." He said, almost muttering it out.

Maddie frowned at hearing that from her son and let go of him. "You had to figure what out, Danny?"

He let out a sigh, running a hand through his messy hair, frowning a bit at the question. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Danno! We can finally be a family again!"

Danny smiled at the way his Dad tried to lift their spirits up.

He had missed that about his family.

Maybe he did need to do this.

Maybe he did need them ... especially for Connor...

He turned his head away, trying to avert his gaze the best he could from his parents. "You want to know why I left?" Maddie and Jack nodded at his question, keeping their eyes on Danny. "Well, it's because..."

The sudden noise of something falling onto the hard, wood floor on the second floor caused both Danny and Jazz to stand, but the older Fenton parents looked ready to take on a ghost as Jack suddenly had a bazooka in hand while Maddie had an ecto-pistol at the ready. The two hurried upstairs with Jack yelling 'GHOST!' as usual which only caused Danny to panic as he raced after them with his sister following behind him.

If they found Connor they would think he was Phantom and if they did ... he didn't want to think about what they'd do.

As he hurried up the stairs he noticed how his Mother was already checking Jazz's old room while his Dad checked their room which left his old room clear ... for the moment.

He hurried over to the door, phased right through it and found what had caused the noise.

His son was lying on the floor, still asleep.

Danny chuckled as he knelt down beside his son with a smile. '_He must've floated off the bed and it stopped when he was but a few inches from the floor. At least he didn't wake up..._'

The door to his bedroom opened and both his parents came in with weapons blazing, pointing them in any direction they saw fit causing Danny to freeze up.

He hoped they didn't see his son as Phantom.

Connor was _his _son as Phantom _is_ him.

Maddie and Jack noticed Danny and lowered their weapons, but instantly went on edge when they saw the white hair of the boy under the blanket. They held up their weapons once more and Danny noticed this. He got up and stood before the weapons, holding his arms up in a peaceful sign of defence.

"Danny, what are you doing with..." A disgusted look came onto his Mother's face and Danny's almost winced, but tried to keep a straight face. "..._that ghost_?"

"Yea, we're going to rip him a part molecule by molecule!" His Father proclaimed, throwing a fist in the air.

It was hurtful when they wanted to do that to him, but to his own son ... it made him angry.

It also made him want to throw up.

He knew they didn't know, but it just wasn't right that you can just say that stuff around family especially kids.

"He's _not _Phantom," Danny tried to explain to his parents as they continued to insult _him _and his son. He had to grit his teeth to try and hold in his temper.

"Really?!" Maddie exclaimed as she gestured behind Danny, frowning at him. "There's no one else that has that colour hair!"

"He's not even glowing, so he's not a ghost," Danny tried to reason with them.

"It's just a disguise. All ghosts are able to get this ability," Maddie exclaimed as though it was common knowledge.

Danny frowned at this.

He only knew of one ghost that did that often to hide amongst humans and that was only to feed off of their misery.

All the others come in their normal forms or just overshadow since everyone in Amity isn't very bright.

"Now move aside, Daniel, so we can destroy Phantom for good!"

Danny kept his frown on his Mother before moving his gaze to his Father to see the same determined look in his eyes to 'destroy Phantom'. His eyes glanced over to Jazz as she stood in the doorway to his room; she just gave him a small nod, knowing what he was planning to do.

The second youngest Fenton took in a deep breath before letting it out. "Do you know how irritating it was whenever I heard you say all that. You don't know anything about ghosts it's all just theories that you've made up." His parents were about to interrupt him, but he glared at them. "The two leading scientists in the Supernatural, but you've _never_ once talked to a ghost. _Never _captured a ghost. _Never _been to the Ghost Zone even though there's a portal right in the basement."

"I captured Phantom once!" Jack proclaimed, proudly, but his son's glare just shot it down.

"If he was distracted or let you then that doesn't count."

"Danny, we've been scientists for thirty years now. I think we know a bit more than you," Maddie told him as Jack nodded in agreement with his wife.

Danny grit his teeth together in anger.

She was treating him like a child.

All for stating his opinion against them.

Why were they so opinionated?

"That doesn't mean anything. All you've done is create _false _theories about the Zone," Danny growled out, starting to get irritated with this conversation. "I've _talked_ to ghosts. I've _captured_ ghosts. Hell, I've gone _into_ the Ghost Zone before. That's where I was the last five years."

His parents gasped at this as Maddie's eyes seemed to be scanning his form for any injuries. "Danny, do you know how dangerous that is!? Ghosts are evil! They could've _killed _you!"

"When are you going to get rid of that ridiculous notion that _all _ghosts are evil. They're not." Maddie was about to respond when Danny beat her to it with something she didn't expect. "If I was a ghost would you _'destroy'_ me?"

Maddie and Jack stared at their son in shock before a nervous laugh escaped his Mother's lips. "Don't be ridiculous, Danny. You're our son. We would never do such a thing."

Here it came.

The part he was dreading.

"Even if I was Phantom?"

His parent's eyes went wide at hearing this. "What?" They asked at the same time.

Danny stayed quiet, watching his parents with narrowed eyes, waiting for their answer.

The two looked at each other, unsure what to say.

They turned back to their son before giving him a worried yet confused look. "He's been overshadowing you that long?"

"I'm not possessed by Phantom. He is me and I am him. We're the same person." His parents still looked like they thought he was overshadowed and looked like they would pull out their weapons. "The portal. When it didn't work I decided to go inside, but hit the 'On' switch and was blasted with a tone of electricity and ectoplasm. It made me what the ghosts call a 'Halfa'. A half-ghost, half-human."

After his little explanation he noticed how his parents seemed to freeze up and look at each other, but were also confused. "There's no such thing..." He heard his Mother mutter.

"If you continue to look at it through science," He said, rolling his eyes at her. "But I bleed blood when I'm like this while as Phantom I bleed ectoplasm. The same can be said for my pulse and heart; their slower in this form, but still there, but as Phantom you can't find them since their replaced with my Ghost Core which kind of thrums."

Maddie blinked, looking down in thought as realization dawned on her that she had indeed felt her son's slowly beating heart when she had hugged him earlier.

If this was true then that meant half-breeds existed.

It was a scientific anomaly.

But her son became one because of their invention.

"Jack ... I felt his heart when I hugged him..." She whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's true..."

"So, our invention..." Jack questioned, but Danny answered with a solemn nod. "Danny-boy, we're sorry about all the things we've done and said..."

Danny just shook his head at them as though he didn't care. "I forgive you. I always have. I was just afraid you wouldn't accept me with how you felt about ghosts."

"Oh Danny, I'm sorry that we made you feel that way..." Maddie said as Danny took a step forward and allowed them to hug him and the two really did notice that their son's heartbeat was slightly slower than a normal persons.

"Sorry, I was so harsh. I just got annoyed with how opinionated you guys were on ghosts, especially since I'm half one," Danny said, giving a small smile to them and getting out of the hug.

"So, now that that's out of the way..." She pointed to the boy behind Danny as a small yawn was heard from him. "Who..."

Maddie was cut off as the boy sat up and the Fenton parents could finally see his face, gasping. His white hair was like a mirror image of Phantom's except for the black strip in his fringe while he had a complex mixture of purple and green eyes. The boy blinked, frowning in confusion at the new faces before leaping up and hiding behind Danny. "Whewe awe we, Daddy?"

"Danny, is he...?" His Mother asked, eyes wide in shock with a hint of anger in them.

She was irritated that her son hadn't bothered to mention the boy yet, especially since it was his son; her grandson.

"Yea..." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck as he turned his head away. "He's mine and Sam's." His eyes became sad and his parents noticed, thinking of a way to cheer him up. "Please, don't mention anything of what we just talked about to him. He doesn't know about it yet." His parents blinked at Danny before he mouthed the words '_too young_' at them.

They understood that.

His son was too young to understood the concept of other dimensions, death and how he was half-ghost like his Father.

"Wha...?" Big, innocent eyes looked up at Danny and the young man almost lost it at the pouty look he received.

Danny just laughed it and gestured to his parents, trying to get over his nervousness. "These are _my _parents. They're your grandparents." He then, pointed over to his sister. "That's my older sister. She's your Aunt."

The boy, not understanding the concept of age yet a part from his own, blinked, frowned and pointed at Danny. "Bu' you tallew!"

What the little boy said caused both his parents and sister to laugh as Danny smiled. "Yea, I'm taller, but she's older." His son just tilted his head and Danny sighed. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

The boy frowned and approached his grandparents, nervously, looking up at them and swallowing. "I...I'm C...Connor..."

Maddie knelt down before the boy and patted his head before bringing him into a hug causing the boy to squeal in fright. "He's gorgeous, Danny!"

"How old are you, Kiddo!" Jack exclaimed, beaming at the frightened boy.

The boy held up a shaky hand at the man, too scared to speak to these people.

He was only used to his Dad and the other few people he would sometimes see.

"He's five today," Danny spoke up and everyone looked at Danny; who just shrugged. "That's why I brought him here. I wanted to see Sam and I thought seeing something other than the Zone would be a nice Birthday present for him."

Maddie let go of the boy as he rushed back over to Danny and hugged him around his legs. "Tank you, Daddy!"

Danny's eyes went wide, looking down at his son before smiling down at the boy. "No problem..." He ruffled the boy's hair as said kid giggled.

As Danny and his son were distracted his parents had rushed downstairs to make a cake for the recently discovered family member while Jack quickly went out to buy something for a five-year old.

That left Jazz in the room with her brother and nephew.

"Have you told Mum and Dad yet?" Danny asked causing his sister to blink and stare at him. "Come on, Jazz, I had to go through four and a half months of Sam's hormones. You didn't think I wouldn't notice when you had them? You're my sister."

She blushed and looked away from her slightly intimidating younger brother. "No, not yet. I haven't even told my husband yet."

A grin split across Danny's face at his sister's face. "Well, I'll be sure to be the best Uncle to Junior, Jazz."

She turned back to face him, blinking at him in surprise. "You're not leaving?"

He shook his head as Connor let go of his leg and hurried out of the room. "No. I don't think so. I think ... this is what Connor and I need the most right now."

"That's a good decision, Danny."

"Cake! Cake! Cake!" They heard Connor shouting from downstairs and look at each other and laugh.

"I better make sure it's ectoplasm free first before Connor tries any."

"I'm glad that you're deciding to stay, Danny."

"Me too..."

* * *

**_NOTES:-_**

**_1\. Danny's son's name in this is from a character from a Webtoon I'm currently working on. I know I could've done that with my previous Future AU scenario, but I forgot. So, yea, Connor's name is from a character from my Webtoon._**

**_2\. Also with Connor's speech pattern I don't know how little kids talk. I'm not around kids that often unless I see my cousins, so I don't know how well a four-going-on-five year old would speak. I've already forgotten how a terrible two talks and I only saw one on Father's Day. XD So this is only my interpretation of the age of Danny's son. Sorry, if I get it wrong, but I'm not around kids a lot as I said._**


	6. Not A Shrimp Anymore

**_Here's the sixth chapter of SoE. It's just a basic idea I had while I've read a few DP fics of Danny getting older most don't look into how people react to the sudden change of when Danny gets taller. I mean, he's known as quite a small teenager in the show, so Danny turning up to school after holidays when he's hit a growth spurt is bound to shock a few kids._**

**_Also, note that I don't live in America so if I get anything wrong like the seasonal calendar, when school starts, states and all that jazz I've stated I live in a different part of the hemisphere from Mr Hartman and his beloved characters._**

**_Also, sorry if the ending is kind of rushed. I didn't really know what else to write, so I kind of just went with what came out. There's also the fact that I don't really know DP characters height details, so I just guessed for the most part. I did try to look into them, but Dash's didn't seem realistic from what I found for a fourteen-year old, so I gave him a realistic height and if I were to re-watch the show he's slightly shorter than Jack NOT the same height._**

_**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**_

_**What-if Scenario - Growth Spurt**_

_**Genre - Comedy/School/Friendship**_

_**Word count:- 3,157 (ANs not included)**_

* * *

**_Story 6: Not A Shrimp Anymore_**

It was around late August; around the time of a new school year in America. So it was only natural that Amity Park was starting school again too.

A messy, raven-haired teenage boy stood before the doors of the confounding hell.

Americans get three months holiday until the next year of school; ending in May and starting again in late August or early September, depending on where you resided.

His holiday ... had been anything _but_ peaceful or fun games.

He'd had to fight a weird clown obsessed with ghosts at the beginning of the summer, had multiple ghost fights and nearly blew up his own home by having a nightmare and screaming so loud a ghostly wail came from his mouth.

Yep, _fun_...

He was able to get some free time and hang out with his friends ... for a while.

But for the most part he was kept away due to ghost attacks which ticked him off.

He never got a break.

The last time he'd seen his friends during summer was in mid-July.

That felt so faraway now.

The teenager took a deep breath, steadying himself and walking up the steps to the school. He could hear the buzz of other teenagers gossiping about what they did over the summer.

He just rolled his eyes and smirked.

'_Probably not as cool as me fighting ghosts..._' though that was more an inside joke since he did that daily. He took a deep breath and put a hand on the door, ready to push it open. '_Okay, eleventh grade ... here I come..._'

The boy pushed open the door to the hallway of the school, noticing how some kids glanced at him briefly before doing double-takes and staring. He just lifted a brow and continued down the hall until he reached his locker, twisting the dial and opening it to place his books inside.

Once he closed his locker he felt a soft tap on his shoulder, turning around he spotted his friends, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hey guys, how was your holiday?" He asked, casually.

The dark-skinned boy frowned at his friend, pointing at him. "Dude, did you even look in a mirror today?"

A tilt of his head only showed how confused he was. "No. Why?"

The girl beside the boy, face-palmed. "Danny, how can you not tell there's a difference in..." She gestured with a hand on her head and moved it up.

Danny stared before his blue eyes went wide and suddenly looked uneasy. "Wait, are you saying I finally got my growth spurt!?"

A snort was his response from the two. "Dude, how could you not notice?"

The teenager straightened and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, how can I when my parents are always in the lab and Jazz is at college? There was no one to really tell me." His eyes sparkled a little at this new discovery. "But I finally got my growth spurt! Yes!"

"Anyways, we should probably get our schedules," Sam told the two; who nodded at her.

As the three walked down the hall, Danny noticed that Sam had only grown a little taller and Tucker was slightly taller than her, but not as tall as him. Danny noticed a few guys staring at them, but frowned at the thought that they were looking at Sam and weren't shocked by his sudden growth spurt. Now what surprised him a bit was that he was making a few girls turn their heads, especially some A-Lister girls.

He no longer wore his white shirt with red accents and circle in the middle, but had instead started to wear some darker colours to contrast with his hair and lighter to go with his eyes. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt with a blue jacket and dark jeans while his sneakers were black with white laces and a hint of green.

He had started to develop muscle and even though it was in the swimmers body type it was still classified as muscle. He had abs, nice biceps and hand muscles ... all from ghost fighting.

The thing worrying him was ... it was giving him more attention than he wanted.

He could tell that he already had a bad-boy vibe around him just from how he was being gawked at.

He shivered, pulling at his collar to better hide himself, but it didn't really work.

A frown worked its way onto his face as he and his friends continued down the hall to get their schedules.

'_This is going to be a long day..._'

_**SOE**_

After the trio had gotten their schedules from the stunned, wide-eyed, Mr Lancer; they headed to their first class of the day. Their schedules were different this year and they only shared some classes together. Sam had Social Studies first while Tucker had Technology Advancements and Danny had Chemistry.

Once the teenager found the room, he easily found himself a seat down at the back of the room, so no one would bother him.

However luck wasn't on his side...

It seemed he shared this class with a certain popular Spanish girl and once she lay eyes on him she smiled and pranced on over to him.

Why she chose Chemistry as an elective was beyond him...

Danny just groaned, not looking forward to where this was going.

"Hey, _Danny_..." She purred out as she leaned over his desk, face so close to his own.

He turned his head away from her. "Hi Paulina..." His voice going up a pitch from nerves.

"What's the matter?" She asked him, giving a pouty face.

His eyebrow twitched before he turned back to face her. "Why are you suddenly paying attention to me?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, sounding generally confused.

"You've never wanted to talk to me before, so why now?" He asked, annoyed at how ignorant she was to his questions.

"It's because..." Her hands wandered over his chest causing his breath to hitch and his spine to tingle. "...you got _so_ _hot_, Fenton." She looked into his eyes and he gulped. "I didn't realise how good-looking you were."

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

If Paulina was hitting on him then that meant puberty had hit him and _hard_.

He was no longer scrawny little Danny Fenton, but now strong and tall Danny Fenton.

And he didn't like the attention he was suddenly recieving as Fenton.

As Phantom he was used to attention, but as Fenton ... not so much.

"Err..." He tried to think of something to say to her. He had gotten over his crush on her a while back, so Paulina suddenly flirting with him would obviously freak him out. "...that's nice and all, Paulina, but just because puberty hit me doesn't mean you can suddenly start flirting with me."

He inwardly winced at how harsh he had sounded.

_So_ _un-Fenton-lik_e.

But if it was to get her off of his back then he had to be harsh towards her.

She didn't even seem bothered by his words. She just huffed and stood up from his desk. "You may be hot now, but you're still a loser, Fenton!" She turned her head and walked away from him and back to her seat.

Danny lowered his brows at her words.

He could sense the hesitation behind her cruel words.

Did she really mean it?

She _was_ blushing all of a sudden.

The halfa shook his head with a light frown creasing his features as if it were ridiculous.

Paulina crushing on _him_!?

That's ridiculous.

That'd only happen if he actually _was_ hot now thanks to puberty.

Then again he never actually looked in a mirror recently.

This perked his curiousity.

If Paulina was flirting with him then it was obvious he was good-looking now.

He needed a mirror.

He wanted to see how good he looked!

He cringed as these thoughts flew through his head, sitting up straight and shook his head.

He shouldn't think like that.

It'll get him into trouble.

Make him go down the wrong path which he didn't want.

He bit his bittom lip, turning his head away to face the window as his teacher came into the classroom to start the lesson. All the girls were still eye-goggling him which sent odd chills down his spine.

He didn't like it.

'_I...I'll have a look at lunch..._' he thought to himself, keeping his eyes on the window and ignoring all the female eyes gawking at him.

Another shiver wracked his body and he swallowed.

He was so not used to this...

Not at all...

_**SOE**_

As the bell rang for lunch, Danny sprinted from his fourth period class, down the hallways of Casper High and towards the male toilets. He flung the door open and rushed over to the sink where the large mirror was located against the wall and stared at his reflection with wide ice-blue eyes.

"Holy..."

He put a hand to his face, no longer able to feel the essence of baby fat that had once been there when he was fourteen. He had a strong jawline however still keeping a Danny-like essence. His hair had also grown out to how it was when he was 'Fun Danny' at the back while at the front it was also long enough to obscure his vision.

He grabbed his hair and stared at its length. "How did I not notice even my hair?"

His friends _did_ call him clueless for a reason.

Maybe that abided to this too.

He let go of his hair and lowered his eyes to his body to check that out. And even though he was currently wearing a jacket to make up in bagginess it still came through and showed his developing muscles underneath. Because he mainly threw punches and flew around his body was more a runner's or swimmer's body type and his hand and leg muscles were probably the best.

He sighed to himself, trying to think about how it was a good thing he grew.

He used to be 5'3" and now he's 6'2".

He towered over most of the kids now thanks to inheriting his Father's height in genes.

It still felt weird to him though.

He left the bathroom and went to the cafeteria, grabbed a tray and some food and found his friends. He collapsed beside them as the two looked at him, surprised.

"It's been that bad?" Tucker questioned, not looking up from his PDA.

"I don't know. Puberty must've hit me _good_ because Paulina actually hit on me in my first class this morning," He explained to the two causing them to stop what they were doing and stare at him.

"Wait, wait..." Sam waved her arms about, a frown marring her features. "Paulina; Queen B of Casper High flirted with you?" Danny nodded as Sam raised a brow. "All because puberty hit you like a truck and every girl now thinks that you're hot?"

Tucker grinned, looking up from his PDA, leaning across the table and eyeing the two sitting beside each other. "You said _every_ girl, Sam. You didn't classify a number." He wiggled his brows at them causing the two to blush.

"You know what I mean, Tucker," she growled out at him.

Danny just seemed to ignore his friends little argument and stared up at the ceiling, arms folded with brows scrunched together.

The two seemed to notice this though as Tucker decided to ask what was on Danny's mind, "Dude, you okay?"

A silent sigh was all that left Danny's lips as he shook his head. "I just realized ... it's gym next. My Casper gym uniform..." He winced as realization dawned on his face. "...won't fit me anymore."

Sam snorted at her friend's apprehension of not wanting to show off his newly gained muscles to his classmates. "Sure, Danny," She spoke with a sarcastic lilt to her voice. "Just wear that black shirt that's sure to gain attention from everyone."

He just rolled his eyes at her response, frowning slightly.

"Sam, is it not okay for me to be a bit self-conscious of the fact that I'm suddenly seen as a stud by all the female population at school now?" He raised a thick eyebrow at her as though judging her for a response.

"Dude, I envy you!" Tucker cried out, eyes wide. "I'd be flaunting my good looks all about! You can get any girl you want now!" He gestured his arms about, waving them about wildly. "Why are you complaining?"

Danny cringed at the way his friend talked about this situation and it seemed Sam was just as irritated. "Tuck, it's because..." He leaned forward so only his friends could hear him. "...Fenton isn't meant to be the popular stud ... that's Phantom's job. If I see myself as enjoying one ounce of popularity now I might lose myself..." He turned his head to look over at the A-Lister's. "...like a certain group of people we know."

"I get what you're saying, Danny, but the best thing you can do is ignore the attention you recieve from this. They never payed any attention to you before puberty, so why should you give them any attention back. They just want attention from a hot guy," Sam explained how she saw the situation to her friend.

That was until she realized how she had worded her last sentence and blushed a bright crimson while Danny turned a light shade of pink.

Tucker just put a hand to his mouth and chuckled across from them, trying to hold in his laughter.

"T...That's not what I...I mean I..." She tried to put it into words what she meant, getting frustrated with herself as she continued to sputter in front of her two male friend; one of which was blushing and the other laughing.

In the end she threw up her hands, stood from the table and stormed off out of the cafeteria; face still flaming red.

Danny just stared after Sam, blinking in confusion and swallowing.

'_What just happened...?_'

_**SOE**_

Once lunch was over; Danny and Tucker made their way to the gym locker rooms. However since Danny had outgrown his gym uniform he didn't need to change into it, so he spent the majority of the time chatting with Tucker. He did however leave his jacket in his locker and rolled his pant-leg up so that his arms and legs had more air.

After that the two headed out into the gym, waiting to see what hell they were in for on the first day back.

Right as they entered through the double doors into the gym; all eyes were on the two or more specifically - Danny.

All the girls were eyeing him, up and down, with looks of hunger in their eyes.

It unnerved Danny of how much a girl could be turned on with just one glance.

The boys were a different story though.

They were all frowning as though confused at how shrimpy Danny Fenton got taller than even Dash Baxter and even had some muscle too.

It didn't seem right in their heads.

"Fenton did steroids!" A tall blond of around 5'8" exclaimed, staring at Danny with wide sky-blue eyes.

Danny and Tucker finally reached the centre of the gym and the taller of the two friends lowered his brows at Dash's comment as students started whispering to each other.

"It makes sense..."

"Tsk, a loser taking steroids just to look cool! Pathetic!"

"What if he actually worked for it? You never know..."

He could tell who was on his side and who wasn't.

The A-Listers were trying to pin that he'd used steroids while Valerie and the nerds tried to hold up a front that he didn't.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Tucker asked, tilting his head slightly and nudging towards the arguing crowd.

This only made Danny scowl at his friend. "Like what?"

"Maybe..." The sudden voice of Sam caused the two boys to whirl around to face her with surprise on their faces. "...just explain it's a part of growing up. I know with how shallow-minded the A-List are they won't believe it, but it's the truth."

Danny let out a sigh, shaking his head. His gaze lifted to the fighting students before opening his mouth and shouting, "HEY!" Everyone stopped and stared at him; well, the A-List just glared at him. He rubbed a hand behind his head, nervously at having all this attention suddenly on him. "I never used steroids."

"Oh yea!" Dash sneered, taking strong strides up to the taller punching bag he'd always wailed on and stood before him, now eye-to-eye. "How do we know you ain't lying, Fenton!" Dash poked Danny in the chest causing him to narrow his eyes at his bully.

He was getting tired of this.

And it'd only been _half-a-day_.

Screw it!

Danny Fenton was no longer a scared little boy, but a strong and brave young man and he will no longer take this.

"Did you not probably think that I got a growth spurt over the holidays? I mean ... look at my Dad," Danny tried to explain as hard as he could to his classmates.

The A-Listers still looked sceptical about what he'd said, eyeing him.

"Then explain all the muscle too!" Dash exclaimed, glaring and gritting his teeth. His favourite punching bag was stronger than before meaning he could defend himself now. This made him angry.

"There's a thing called a gym or a park, genius," Danny retorted causing most of his classmates to snicker.

Dash saw red and grabbed Danny's shirt, picking him up only by a hair and glared at him. "What was that, Fenton!"

"Sarcasm. Ever heard of it."

Before Dash could think of throwing a punch at Danny their teacher arrived and called them all to attention. She was also surprised at Danny's sudden growth in height and muscle, but wanted to see if he had gotten better in gym because of it.

This didn't deter Danny though.

He'd be sure to do his best as both Fenton and Phantom from now on.

He still wasn't looking forward to his newfound popularity among the female population of Casper High.

The next two years were going to be a nightmare.


	7. You Don't Scare Me Anymore

_**I got this idea a while back, thinking about about what it'd be like to see things from the character's perspective in the future in 'The Ultimate Enemy' along with a 'what-if' AU of what-if someone survived the explosion of the Nasty Burger? There's another 'what-if' scenario, but I don't want to give everything away in my ANs. 😅**_

_**This was meant to go for longer, but I didn't feel like writing a, 8,000 word or more oneshot when I had written probably the most important parts already. So, yea. **_

_**Anyways, enjoy!**_

_**Alternate Universe - Alive**_

_**Genre - Drama/Action/Post-**_**_Apocalyptic_**

_**Word Count - 6,108 (Not including ANs)**_

* * *

**_Story 7: You Don't Scare Me Anymore_**

_"Daniel!" A voice shouted at the wide-eyed teen, cowering in the corner of the lab. "Get away from there!"_

_The boy turned his head, only slightly to the man across the room before the sound of hissing caught his attention. The boy turned back to face what was before him as if the world was in slow motion and stared._

_In front of him was a being with a pale face, flaming white hair and a long snake-like tongue that slithered out of its mouth._

_The teenager clamped his mouth shut as the being before him licked it chops; red eyes boring into his blue ones._

_Red eyes that were once an acidic green like the place ghosts reside, but were now as red as blood._

_The tongue slithered out of the ghosts' mouth, saliva dripping onto the lab floor as it stalked towards it prey._

_"My humanity..." It hissed out as though irritated with Danny's presence; lifting up a clawed hand that was surrounded in glowing, green energy. "...I don't believe I need you anymore..."_

_Danny opened his mouth to speak, but it was as though he'd gone into shock from what had transpired in front of him mere moments ago._

_"DANIEL, MOVE!"_

_"Goodbye..." The claws outstretched towards him as Danny regained enough mobility to move aside before pain hit him and he let out a scream of immeasurable pain._

_The laughter of the ghost continued to circle the mansion long before it blew up._

**_SOE_**

It has been ten years since the explosion of the Nasty Burger and peace had come to Amity park since then. There was a Ghost Shield always around the town to protect it from ghosts outside that was connected by large columns around the town. Amity Park had since become like a small metropolis with advances in technology for hover vehicles and even medicine.

However it didn't last long.

The shield broke down after a loud wail-like noise shook the Earth, alarms sounded and people had to rush into Ghost-resistant shelters underground.

The Fenton residence that had been taken over by the Grays was destroyed in the process.

Amity Park was destroyed as Phantom returned with a vengeance.

"DAMMIT!" A black-gloved hand slammed onto the table, surprising the red-haired woman sitting at the other side of it. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS HAPPENED!" The woman in a black and red jumpsuit exclaimed, glaring daggers at the map of Amity Park lying on the table.

There were crosses dotting the map of where Phantom had attacked.

Mainly being almost the entirety of the town since he'd broken the shield down a week ago.

A second map lay beside the first of the underground system where the two women currently were, planning a new strategy against the ghost.

They had groups of people - families locked away in ghost-proof bunkers like the one they were currently in which was reserved for them only.

People that wanted to fight against Phantom and lay down their lives on the line while others either hid away in fear or get on with their life.

"Why..." The woman in the jumpsuit muttered out as her hands clenched into fists. "...Why did Phantom change? He always said he was the good guy and then one day he started destroying things..."

The woman across from her merely folded her arms and turned her head away as though she knew the answer, but didn't want to say anything about it. "I don't know what to tell you, Valerie..."

This seemed to only cause Valerie to growl and glare at the slightly older young woman across from her. "Well, your parents were the _ghost_ _experts_, Fenton, surely you learned something living in that house!?"

This only caused the red-head to frown at Valerie's comment on her parents. "Don't talk about my parents like that."

Jasmine Fenton or Jazz as she was more commonly known as was the only survivor of the Nasty Burger explosion a part from her brother. The Fenton-Peeler armor had saved her life, but made her watch the monster her brother would become.

She hated seeing him like that...

It was like he had died and become something he forcefully didn't want to become.

That's why she stayed in the underground base ... she was the brains of the operations even if she and Valerie argued often.

She didn't want to think what would happen if Phantom saw her ... would he be happy to see his sister alive or would he just not care like how he destroyed their family home without a care in the world?

"Why?" Valerie exclaimed, glaring at Jazz as the two narrowed their eyes at each other. "It's their fault that this is happening! If they'd never built that stupid portal in the first place...!"

"STOP!" Jazz stood to her feet, hands clenched at her sides, head down as tears pricked at the edge of her eyes. "I know what they did was a mistake, but they were curious! I know we're paying for their mistake, but stop blaming them!" Jazz sniffed as she wiped a stray tear from her eye. "T...They're dead. They can't defend themselves..."

Valerie kept her glare on the only living Fenton before turning around with a huff and storming out of the room. "I'm going out on patrol..."

Jazz didn't say anything, but nod her head at Valerie's retreating figure.

She turned around to face a photo on a nearby desk, picking it up and holding it to her chest as more tears cascaded down her face.

"Oh Danny, why'd you have to do this..."

_**SOE**_

Valerie had just taken the lift up to the surface from the underground tunnels that held their bases under Amity. She was currently riding around the empty streets, eyeing demolished buildings and wrecked cars for any signs of Phantom. She was wearing her full Huntress outfit with a bazooka on her back and ecto-pistol at her waist.

She tsked, flying around a corner of another street. "God, I hate her..." She frowned when she said that. "What did I ever see in Fenton considering his sister is such a..."

Her radar started beeping indicating that a ghost was nearby and not just any ghost.

She grit her teeth together and growled, "Phantom..."

She had to get to that signal.

She couldn't lose him.

She could finally get rid of him.

Jazz had told her along with her Dad to never face Phantom without a plan or even a backup plan.

He didn't care what he did to get his way.

He didn't care what he destroyed for his malicious intent.

She just knew he had to be stopped.

As her hover board rounded a corner she was instantly shot off by an ectoblast, launching her across the street and into the remains of an old house. She coughed, standing up and dusting herself off and turned to aim a glare at the ghost that had thrown the attack.

He only grinned back at her; blood, red eyes glaring menacingly at her like a predator would its prey.

His snake-like tongue lulled out, making her shiver before it snaked back inside his mouth, but not before he licked his sharpened fangs.

"Hello again, Valerie..." He spoke slowly as if speaking to a young child with a deep baritone voice that always sent chills down her spine, but kept a cold facade up against him.

The woman's hand twitched towards her ecto-pistol, but the two were at a stand still.

It was usually one of the two that would make the first move and Phantom had been that one and now ... he was waiting for her to retaliate.

It was like a game to him.

A game of cat and mouse ... until he finally had enough and killed her like a real cat does to a mouse.

However there was always the fact he got sick of waiting for her to shoot and attacked her without her getting a shot in.

It annoyed her, but he always seemed to revel in that part of their battles.

Her hand inched closer to her weapon before she made a grab for it and aimed at him, but he wasn't there. An arm swung out causing the weapon to fly from her grasp and growl at the ghost within such close proximity to her. He held her by the fabric of her jumpsuit, glaring down at her with those piercing red eyes of his.

"Out of respect for our pasts I should spare you..." A menacing smirk crawled across his face as he held her up by one muscled arm. "...but that's not how I work."

Valerie turned her head, realising with horror that he was done playing with her.

That he was done with their battles.

He was done with the cat and mouse deal.

He was finally going to kill her.

He was going to throw her into one of the old building and have it collapse onto her, crushing her to death.

Now she was scared.

She struggled, trying to get out of his strong grip while glaring at him as he lifted her up above his head.

"Goodbye..." The clink of metal hitting the pavement stopped him and made him tilt his head down to peer at what it was. "A capsule?"

The small white capsule rolled over an inch and a green 'F' appeared on the side causing Phantom to freeze, promptly dropping Valerie. As he tried to escape in time the capsule opened up and a large amount of green smoke exploded around him and Valerie.

Valerie backed away and out of the smoke, not being affected by it as she watched Phantom wave his arms around, agitated that someone got the jump on him.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" He screamed at the road once his vision was clear.

He wanted to find the guy who was such a coward to throw an ectoplasm-gas grenade at him and not show themselves.

"You called?"

Both Phantom and Valerie whirled around to face the voice, but froze when they saw who it was. There were tears pricking at the edge of Valerie's eyes as she stared at the young man at the end of the road from her.

However there was nothing but a snarl on Phantom's face as he stalked towards his newest prey or old prey. "How are you alive?"

The young man standing at the other end of the street was none other than the missing or thought dead - Daniel Fenton or Danny to most. He was the youngest of the Fentons and the one who survived the explosion ten years ago before going missing soon after. He wore a similar jumpsuit to Valerie only his was black with green and white accents and a 'F' symbol where Phantom's classic 'DP' one was which symbolized 'Fenton'. He still retained the same style of messy, black hair he had years ago, but unlike Phantom ... Danny cut his hair. The young man's ice-blue eyes which had always held a cheerful atmosphere around them now held nothing, but a cold distance in them as if he'd let go of his emotions long ago. He also had a similar muscle tone to Phantom and was just as tall, reaching over 6'4".

"I would've thought you'd have bled out after you lost your arm," Phantom commented, smirking as Danny narrowed his eyes. "Well, at least I get the opportunity to kill you again."

"I'm not fourteen anymore, so you can try, but I'm not afraid of you," Danny spoke up, cold eyes boring into Phantom and the ghost nearly felt tempted to take a step back.

Danny looked ready to kill.

It wasn't a game to him like it was for Phantom.

Danny was planning on outright ending Phantom.

His eyes were like pools of ice ... endless cold...

Phantom also noticed the weapons attached to Danny's belt he had many of the old Fenton tech that looked like it had been upgraded.

The young man eyed Phantom, carefully, making sure to keep an eye on his movements.

The evil ghost just clicked his tongue in irritation. "Two against one hardly seems fair."

"As if you're one to talk about fairness," Danny remarked back, glaring at the ghost.

This only caused said ghost to grin, showing Danny the large set of fangs in his mouth. "I didn't know you held me so highly?"

"I don't..."

The two kept a certain distance from each other, sharing banter that seemed like old times and confused Valerie of wondering how Danny Fenton knew Phantom.

From what she knew when they were in high school; Danny had run at the very sight of a ghost like everyone else.

Now here he was after ten years of thinking him dead ... he'd come back to help fight and looked as though he had experience fighting ghosts.

But in her mind was ... _how_?

The Danny she knew had always been afraid of ghosts not like this young man standing at the other end of the street that was glaring daggers at Phantom.

The Danny ten years ago wouldn't even do that to Dash Baxter let alone a powerful ghost that could kill him like Phantom.

So, how did he change within these ten years?

What hardened him that much?

Was the deaths of his parents and friends really that traumatic for him?

"I'd really like to stay and catch up on old times, Danny, but there's so much I need to do..." Phantom said, glancing at his clawed hand as though he got it newly manicured. "...things to destroy, people to kill. We can catch up at a later date."

At that Phantom took off into the sky, laughing, but not before Danny grabbed something from his belt and threw it at the ghost.

Phantom swerved, cocking an eyebrow at the human with an amused smirk on his face. "You missed."

"Did I?" Danny questioned, narrowing his eyes at Phantom as a small cut opened up on the evil ghost's bicep, drawing gooey-green blood.

Phantom growled and glared down at Danny as the weapon returned to his hand and Phantom noticed what it was.

"You like it? I made a few 'adjustments' to the Boomerang," Danny explained while giving the ghost a smirk that seemed just as evil as Phantom without the red eyes.

The so-called 'Boomerang' was a Fenton invention Danny's parents created ten years ago. He got his hands on it and adjusted it, so that when it came into contact with a ghost, mainly Phantom that ectoplasmic spikes would spring out of the sides and try to injure the ghost as it flew by. Any human it came into contact with wouldn't be harmed since the spikes retract after leaving the vicinity of a nearby specter.

Phantom only grit his teeth together, red eyes boring into Danny's blue ones. "YOU..."

However once Valerie shook off her shock of Danny suddenly appearing after ten years she grabbed her bazooka and aimed it at Phantom; who scoffed.

"It seems that I'm outmatched..." He eyed Valerie before his eyes went back to Danny. "...until next time."

He flew off across the city, laughing, though to Danny's ears it sounded uneasy and he knew why.

Danny and Phantom had once been the same person.

Phantom thought that he had killed Danny; his humanity.

Now that Danny had revealed himself to be alive that meant not only was his human-half still alive, but he was out for blood.

And more specifically Phantom's.

The young man narrowed his eyes at the sky, huffing before connecting the Boomerang back to his belt. His eyes scanned the city; a look in his eyes that Valerie thought she'd never see on Danny Fenton's face.

Guilt...

He turned his head to face her and his expression changed back to the stoic one he had before.

A facade of sorts.

"Valerie..." He nodded his head at her as though he was a professional talking to a coworker.

Which he wasn't in her eyes.

This was an old classmate of hers - ex-boyfriend - that had been missing for ten years, pronounced dead and now he suddenly shows up.

He was so ... different...

"D...Danny..." Valerie let out a mumbled response to his little greeting of her name.

But it just didn't feel right.

How was this young man before her ... scrawny, cheerful Danny Fenton that had once dreamed of being an Astronaut when he graduated?

The answer ... he grew up...

The deaths of his loved ones caused him to let go of such a childish dream and made him into this cold, hardened man she saw before her.

It scared her...

"Umm ... What are you doing back?" Valerie decided the best thing to do was to start up a conversation with him. "I mean I haven't seen you since you left ... ten years ago..."

Danny seemed to be listening yet at the same time wasn't.

He was too busy eyeing the destroyed buildings, cracked footpaths and wrecked cars.

"I came back because I wanted to. I'm ready to face him," He told her, causing a confused look to cross Valerie's face.

"What do you mean? As far I've known you you've never fought a ghost."

This only caused him to sigh in both annoyance at her naivety and negligence in research. "As far as you know..."

This caused Valerie to pause before she comprehended what her ex had said and stared at him. "Are you saying you've fought ghosts before?! Did you have the right equipment or training?!"

He finally turned around to face her, eyeing her with a glare. "What about you, miss Huntress?"

"That's different!"

"It's not."

They kept a firm stare-down on each other; one keeping a calm facade and the other raging on the inside.

Valerie clenched her fists together before throwing up her hands and crying out in frustration as Danny watched in slight amusement.

"Fine! But we continue this in HQ!"

Danny lifted a thick black brow at those words as she pressed a button on her jumpsuit causing a metal elevator-like contraption to lift up out of the ground. Danny stared at it with raised brows before looking at Valerie; who gestured for him to get in.

He sighed, shrugging and walked inside and Valerie pressed the same button allowing the metal doors to close and the elevator to descend.

There was silence between the two as the elevator went down and even though he liked quiet he was curious about these new advancements in Amity.

"So, you keep people underground for their safety?" Danny asked, trying to start a conversation.

Valerie nodded her head at this. "Yea! While the town was protected by a ghost shield for the last ten years we were able to create this underground system that's entirely ghost-proof!" She exclaimed, sounding proud of this fact.

Danny made a small noise in the back of his throat though Valerie didn't hear it as she babbled on about the tunnel system.

The young man swallowed and turned his gaze to glare at the wall next to him.

She had no idea what happened ten years ago between Phantom and him.

Nor did she know that he and Phantom had once been one.

The metal elevator door opened up and Valerie gestured for Danny to follow her down a long metal hallway. He scanned his surroundings noting the large metal doors with large glass windows beside them. He peered inside one and noticed it was like a room of sorts. Valerie had explained that the underground tunnels also housed many of Amity Park's citizens in small room-like mini-hotel rooms. They also had separate times for everyone to meet up for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even spend time together.

A saddened look overcame the distant cold in Danny's eyes. '_They've gotten too used to living underground ... almost as if its permanent..._'

He shook his head and continued to follow Valerie down the hall until they reached the end of the hall. She pressed a few keys on the keypad allowing the metal door to open up for them.

"This is our '_war room_' or '_plan room_'..." She gave him a small shrug of her shoulders as she approached the table full of plans of the town and underground. "...whatever you wanna call it."

Danny nodded, entering the room and eyeing the map of Amity Park with narrowed eyes, noticing the crosses occupying most of the map which meant it was where Phantom had attacked.

Danny turned his attention to the underground map, so that he knew where everything was in this place he had never been in before.

He never knew they could make something like this for Amity in these ten years, but they did.

He was glad they accomplished something while he was gone to at least save _some_ people.

"Valerie, are you back?" A voice spoke that caused Danny to freeze.

He turned his head, eyes wide as he stared at his older sister; who had just come out of a side room with a coffee in hand. Jazz also seemed frozen to the spot, staring at Danny with wide eyes before she quickly grabbed an ecto-pistol off of her belt and aimed it him.

He let out a sigh, having a feeling that she knew about him and never told him.

"Valerie, how could you bring him here?" Jazz exclaimed, voice cracking as the gun aimed at Danny's chest, wanting to shoot, but she couldn't.

"What are you talking about? It's Danny. He's alive. He came back after all this time!" Valerie shouted back, starting to lose her temper at the conclusion that Jazz jumped to.

Danny couldn't blame Jazz for being suspicious of him, but she didn't know what happened between him and Phantom.

She didn't know ... that Phantom tried to kill him...

"You can't kill me with that, Jazz..." Danny breathed out and Jazz sucked in a breath at hearing his voice sound so eerily similar to Phantom's. "...it won't work on me."

"Why not?" She growled out, glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

Danny was silent; his eyes looking away from his sister before they looked back to her. "Because they only work on ghosts, Jazz..."

"Oh God..." It clicked in her head as she dropped the ecto-pistol, covering her mouth, tears at the edge of her eyes. "Danny..."

He gave her a light smile before she ran into his chest, crying. He pat her head, hushing her as she cried into her taller, younger brother's chest. He wrapped his arms around her thin figure, propping his head on hers.

"I thought you were dead..." Was the only thing that came from his lips as he stared at the wall across from them.

"I thought you were too..." She sniffed, wiping her tears and letting go of her brother. "How...?"

He opened his mouth before looking over at Valerie and crossing his arms. "It's complicated to explain with her here."

Jazz looked at Valerie as she frowned while also folding her arms across her chest. "Why is it so complicated?"

Danny let out a sigh that he'd been holding in before leaning against the table that held the maps. "It's basically about my past with Phantom, our falling out and how he turned into this monster."

He heard Valerie snicker and turned to aim a glare at her. "You had a past with Phantom? I'm sorry but I don't think I believe that you - Danny Fenton couldn't have a past with such a dangerous ghost."

"I do, Val. He wasn't always like this. He was generally trying to be the good guy before all this happened," Danny started explaining.

"Yea, right. The ghost that ruined my life and killed your parents and friends was the good guy? Sure, Danny," Valerie scoffed.

The young man put a hand to his forehead to massage it as though he had a headache. "Just let me finish before you go off, okay?" He asked, sounding tired. He only received a light, annoyed tsk from Valerie. "Anyways, you know how I ended up in the hospital in Freshman year?"

This only caused Valerie to raise an eyebrow and Jazz to stare at her brother with wide eyes.

She knew where he was going with this.

He was going to explain who Phantom had once been to him to her before he explained how he survived ten years ago.

"What's that go to do with anything?"

"Everything..." Danny muttered out, lowering his head so much that his raven-black hair covered his eyes. "Our parents had just finished the Ghost Portal it didn't work though. I didn't like seeing them so upset, so I invited Sam and Tucker over and they asked me to check it out. I put on a HAZMAT suit before going inside, but I tripped over some wiring and pressed a button while inside. The next few moments were excruciating. I felt like I was dying. I actually thought _I was dead_ when I stumbled out and finally looked in the mirror. I freaked out because I was looking at a ghost only he had white hair and green eyes." Danny finally lifted his head up to meet Valerie's gaze and could see her contemplating his words before rage took hold.

"You...You did all this?!" Valerie exclaimed, rage taking over for the young man before her.

"Valerie, just let him explain. I don't even know what happened to Danny after the Nasty Burger incident," Jazz tried to hold Valerie back, but she did notice how her brother winced at the mention of said incident.

"I...It's partly my fault..." Danny said, turning his head away from them.

"PARTLY?! ISN'T IT ALL YOUR FAULT?!"

"Phantom and I were one person after the lab accident. I was always in control of what I did a part from ... certain circumstances, but Fenton and Phantom back then were never two separate beings. We were one and the same," Danny explained as he noticed Valerie finally calming down from the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?" She growls out.

"As I said I was always Phantom ten years ago. There was never anyone else. I was in control in both forms."

Valerie kept a narrowed gaze on Danny as Jazz finally let go of her. "What were you?"

"I was known as a Halfa in the Ghost Zone which means half-human, half-ghost."

"If you could control yourself as Phantom, then what happened to make him go berserk?" Valerie asked, eyeing Danny, carefully.

He turned his head away from the two women and sighed. "After the explosion I left Amity Park and went to Wisconsin to stay with Vlad Masters..." He noticed how his sister was about to comment, but he held up a hand to stop her. "...I realize now that it was a bad idea. I was going through so much emotional turmoil that I stupidly asked Vlad to ... rip my ghost-half out..."

"He should've destroyed Phantom then!" Valerie exclaimed, beginning to get angry again.

"The thing is I think that made Phantom angry. He felt unwanted and coupled with how his obsession worked it was probably causing his core to deteriorate. So as a last resort he stole the Ghost Gauntlets from Vlad and ripped the ghost-half out him and overshadowed it."

Valerie held up a hand and stared at Danny with wide eyes. "Vlad was half-ghost?" Danny nodded his head causing her to bite her lip. "So, he sent me my suit to fight you all for gain or to distract you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Something like that. Anyway, I have a feeling the evil inside of Vlad's ghost-half overpowered mine which changed his obsession from protect to..." He swallowed, turning away. "...destroy. After that I was terrified at what I'd witnessed and before I knew it he was on me, ready to kill." Danny turned his head back to face the two women with hardened eyes. "The Phantom you know now is a combination of two half-ghosts making him a full-ghost, so he doesn't have the type of advantages I had while a half-ghost."

The two stared at Danny with wide eyes before Jazz cleared her throat allowing Danny to turn to her. "Danny, since you were a part of Phantom would you know his weaknesses?"

He merely shook his head at this question. "No. This was the first time I've faced him since I last saw him ten years ago. All these years I've been training and adjusting Mum and Dad's old weapons. A human body isn't as durable as a half-ghost one is, so I had to do a lot of training."

"I can see that..." Valerie muttered to herself as her eyes raked over Danny's chest, noting how he had strong abs and a six pack now under that suit. She turned her head away while trying to contain a blush.

"I had to as Phantom was once a part of me and I feel like I should take responsibility for him. I feel like it's my duty to get rid of him. I brought him into this world, so I should be the one to get rid of him."

"That's a strong belief, Danny," Jazz spoke up, smiling at her brother as he tried to smile back, but it seemed forced. "Wait, you said you made adjustments to some of Mum and Dad's weapons?"

Danny nodded his head, pulling a strap off of his shoulder and taking off a bag that had been hidden by his build. "Yea. I'm using some of them, but the schematics for them are in here if you wanna check them out."

Jazz seemed to get all giddy to check out these schematics her brother had brought with him. This only caused Valerie to raise her eyebrow. "How'd you get these?"

"I went through the Ghost Zone," He said it so nonchalantly, but Valerie and Jazz seemed to freeze and he waved his hand as if it was nothing. "Calm down, I was attacked only twice and once I explained that Phantom and I split and I'm now completely human you could say ... the ghosts help me. Phantom has done just as much damage here as he has to the Ghost Zone, so ghosts want him gone too. They only want my help because I'm his humanity; who he once was before the split."

"Wouldn't they be angry at you for splitting from Phantom though?" Valerie asked, frowning.

Danny merely shrugged as he opened his bag and took out sheets of paper, laying them down on the table. "Well, word travels fast in the Ghost Zone, so if they knew my family had been killed there would be a few that would understand my pain then there would be others that wouldn't. I think they also felt angry that Phantom had attacked me when I was in such an emotional state that I couldn't defend myself. No matter what people say ... ghosts are emotional beings and having Phantom inside me had amplified those of depression and self-loathing back then and I just needed time to myself." He closed his eyes. "Phantom didn't understand that..."

There was a silence that followed after Danny said all that.

What could they say to him after hearing that?

They couldn't just apologize for Phantom's behavior.

Danny would want to hear it from the ghost himself, but like he cared anymore.

As Danny used pins to keep the schematics lying flat on the table there was something troubling Valerie.

It was something Phantom had said...

"Danny, what did Phantom mean he thought you would bleed out from your arm?" It was meant be an innocent question, but it made him freeze.

"Danny..." Jazz reached out to touch him, but he moved away.

"I knew I should've told you before, but..." He bit his bottom lip as he put his left hand to his right shoulder, pressing a button.

The HAZMAT suit's sleeve fell away so similar to Valerie's, but that wasn't what caught their attention. It was the bulky, metal arm that was sticking to Danny's shoulder where his right arm should be.

He lifted his arm up and stared at it with a distant look in his blue eyes. "This is what he meant. When he tried to kill me I had froze up in shock, but I got out of it in time before I was decapitated, but he got my arm instead. Vlad helped me to his underground lab and Phantom probably thought we died when he blew the mansion up, but I had to go through so many surgeries to get this..."

Both young women stared at the metal appendage; Valerie with wide eyes and mouth gaping open like a fish while Jazz covered her mouth as tears came to her eyes once more.

"Oh Danny..." Jazz choked out, body trembling as she stared her little brother's metal arm.

Danny just gave the two a light smile as he pressed the button for his HAZMAT suit and the sleeve covered his arm once more. "It's okay, Jazz. I've gotten used to it and..." He looked down at his arm, clenching it. "...my arm is weaponized just in case I'm without one..."

"You're arm is weaponized! Do you realize how dangerous that is, Danny!?" His sister exclaimed, eyes wide.

The young man just rolled his eyes at her overreaction, folding his arms as if he didn't care. "Yes, I realize that, Jazz. I asked SkulkTech to make my arm." He received shocked looked from his sister and ex-girlfriend, but proceeded. "Phantom had already started his tyranny in the Ghost Zone when Vlad finished surgery on my arm, so I told SkulkTech I would deal with Phantom if he gave me a new arm."

"And you trusted this ghost!" Valerie shouted, getting ready to punch Danny for being stupid.

"No. I asked Vlad to run a diagnostics on the arm before we attached it, so that it didn't do anything to me. I'm only human now. No ghost-half to help me heal. But I think the ghosts want any help they can get even if it's Phantom's separated human-half to get rid of him," Danny explained to them.

Throughout the explanation Danny remained calm and held himself high, like he knew what he was talking about.

Jazz had never seen her brother like this ... so cold ... distant.

So unlike the Danny she once knew.

It was the same for Valerie since she still had had a crush on Danny after their break-up, but seeing him like this ... like a different person.

It sent chills down her spine.

They could tell he still retained the essence of the old Danny, but he held up a cold facade and held himself like a warrior.

He was still Danny, but he had changed into a man that fought to get rid of the evil that was once a part of him.

That was the scary thing about him ... Danny and Phantom being two different entities now...

Danny had molded himself into this strong, stubborn Ghost-Hunter that was out to kill Phantom for not just justice, but also for a way to forgive himself...

This future that Phantom had created by destruction, but it had all started from when Danny got Phantom ripped out of him.

He blamed himself for this future and saw it as his responsibility to deal with it and Phantom.

Alone...


	8. Grudges Never Fade

_**I got this idea when I thought about Danny's relationship with Valerie and I've never really liked her. I probably would if she didn't hold such a grudge towards Danny for something that WASN'T his fault. I mean, if the show continued and we got to see Valerie forgive Danny and he'd explain what actually happened then I'd probably like her more. I guess it's just in my opinion when she yells at Danny at how he ruined her life she sounds ... selfish. Not only that, but she causes just as much damage as Danny does when chasing after him, but puts the blame on him. So this oneshot is basically about the consequences of what both Valerie and Danny's actions cause.**_

_**Also, I'm not so good at fight scenes, but I did the best I could since I haven't seen the show in a while. And sorry if the ending was rushed it was all I could think of for it.**_

**_What-if Scenario - Price_**

**_Genre - Tragedy/Drama_**

**_Word Count - 3,632 (Not counting ANs)_**

* * *

**_Story 8: Grudges Never Fade_**

"PHAAANNTOOOMM!" A voice screamed at the white-haired, green-eyed ghost that flew across the city. "I HAVE YOU THIS TIME!"

The ghost wore a black hazmat suit with white gloves and boots along with a thermos clipped to his white belt that was a recent accessory to the suit. He had snowy, white hair that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and neon, green eyes that glowed with a vibrant determination and innocence that no one seemed to ever notice.

They only ever saw what they wanted to see.

That he glowed.

That he fired beams from his hands.

He was a ghost and must be dealt with.

No amount of saving lives or stopping ghost attacks was enough for these people.

But he kept helping them any way.

He never held grudges or fought against the humans.

One of such humans was the ghost hunter currently flying after him on her silver hoverboard, wearing a sleek red and black suit that had a helmet along with it to hide her own identity from the public eye. She had small weapons holstered on her belt and a large bazooka on her back; these were weapons that hurt ghosts.

And the one she was currently flying after was always her intended target.

She wanted to capture him.

To end his existence for ruining her life...

"STOP, PHANTOM!" She yelled, taking her bazooka off her back and aiming it at him with a snarl.

He turned his head, frowning when he saw her flying after him with a large gun aimed right at him. "Come on, Red. I just took out a ghost for you. Can't we just call it a day?"

"All you _ghosts_ need to be destroyed..." She growled out, putting her finger on the trigger causing him to gulp.

_'Geez, she seems a lot more ticked than usual or maybe it's just Valerie being ... well, Valerie...'_ He thought to himself as he flew down a street with her following him.

He swallowed as he looked around for somewhere to hide.

Sure, he could go invisible, but she had scanners in her suit and could still follow him that way.

He needed to get away and change back to his human form.

He wanted to rest.

He wanted the day to end.

He'd just fought a ghost and was now being followed by a girl his age that wanted him dead.

She didn't even understand that it wasn't his fault.

She only saw what she wanted to see...

The sound of a large vehicle screeching to a halt drew his attention as his green gaze looked down at the road below him and noticed his parents exit the Fenton Assault Vehicle with his older sister. She was yelling at them once more as the three walked over the sidewalk on the other side of the road.

The half-ghost kept his gaze on his family as he flew by them, noticing his Mother grabbing the bazooka off her own back along with his Father; the same way Valerie did.

He swerved out of the way of a few shots from them, flying higher until he was in front of a large billboard.

"Got you now, _ghost_..." Valerie growled, aiming her bazooka and pressing the trigger on it.

The shot caused the fifteen-year-old half-ghost to snap his head up to pay attention once more to the other hunter after him, eyes widening and instantly avoided the shot of ectoplasmic goo. But after he dodged the shot he took notice of how from the distance Valerie was at she must've upped the power on the gun making it cause more damage.

His eyes widened as he turned his attention back to the girl in the suit as she took aim at him once more, still before the billboard. He waved his hands in front of his body and shook his head. "Red, stop! If you keep shooting the billboard will fall!"

"AS IF I'LL LISTEN TO ANYMORE OF YOUR LIES, _GHOST_!" She exclaimed, shooting off a multitude of green, ectoplasmic shots.

The ghost-boy held up a shield to protect the billboard from harming the people below from the huntress' angry temper.

However, he also forgot about the hunters' on the ground and was shot from his position in front of the billboard.

He tumbled back in the air before righting himself and watched as the rest of Valerie's strong blasts hit the billboard causing it to teeter back and then finally forward.

He froze for a moment, eyes widening in silent horror before he flew forward to try and save his family.

Even if his parents hated him he would save them anyway.

He had to...

He just had to...

He couldn't lose them...

"Where do you think you're going, _ghost_?" Valerie snarled, aiming her bazooka at his chest as he stopped mid-flight and panting.

"Get out of my way!" He tried to push past her, but she powered up her blaster as if she was going to shoot him on the spot.

She let out a low snarl, glaring at him through her visor. "Don't _touch_ m_e..._"

"I don't care at the moment, Val!" He flew around her only to stop with wide eyes.

That was when time seemed to stop for him.

The billboard an inch from crushing his family.

He saw his sister give him a smile as if she was accepting this and she forgave him for not getting to them on time.

It brought to tears to his eyes.

It hurt.

But that wasn't the most painful part.

It was when the billboard finally fell on top of his family, crushing them with such force from such a height.

It was like he'd been hit with a freight train.

He'd seen them and his friends held captive and even exploded, but this...

The tears rolled down his cheeks as he continued to stare at the billboard from up above as a large crowd started to gather around.

Those times his parents knew about him, but he never got around to telling them and now ... he won't be able to.

He closed his eyes as if trying to mourn them.

No one could've survived being crushed from something falling from such a height.

Even someone as big as his Father couldn't.

His mourning was cut short when a blast just barely scraped his arm and he turned back to see Valerie still aiming a gun at him only she seemed ... angrier.

"_You_..." She snarled out through gritted teeth with such a fire in her murky, green eyes. "..._You_ let this happen. I'll never forgive you. You hear me."

Phantom just stared at her with a frown on his face combined with a mix of anger, hate and sadness swirling within him.

He knew why he was sad, but why was he angry ... especially at Valerie.

**_SOE_**

A week after the billboard fell on the unsuspecting Fenton family - their funeral was held and paid for by longtime family friend; Vlad Masters. He took it upon himself to have them receive the best gravestones his worth could get which spurned a fire within the remaining Fenton and argued with the man that it didn't matter how big the stone was, but what was written that mattered. The man seemed to have taken those words to heart and decided it best to get simple gravestones, but have the writing be what spoke.

During the funeral, the youngest Fenton sat at the front beside his two best friends and Vlad.

He tried to hold in the tears but knew that they were pouring down like waterfalls as he watched the coffins lower into the ground.

He had noticed Valerie sitting in the back with her Father; who seemed to be glancing at her as if telling her to go say something to him.

But she didn't.

It was as if she believed it wasn't her fault that they were dead.

And that made something in the young halfa light up like a furnace.

His heart was telling him it was his fault for not moving sooner, but his mind told him it was hers ... for not listening to him.

If she had only listened and not fired her bazooka at him.

So many times...

And at full power...

They'd still be here...

Not only that, but she'd stopped him from saving them at the last minute.

He felt an unbelievable rage bubble up inside of him that he never felt before ... not even for Vlad.

If she'd just put aside her grudge for him and took notice of her surroundings more ... this wouldn't have happened.

He grits his teeth, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

Now she was blaming him; his ghost-half for it all when she was the one with the gun.

She fired the blasts at the billboard.

If she had been more careful with civilians around this wouldn't have happened.

His family would still be here if it wasn't for Valerie...

After the funeral; Vlad had tried to grab the only living Fenton to take him with him, but found him missing.

He wasn't with his friends or Valerie.

He wasn't in front of the recently carved gravestones.

The teenager had just up and vanished after the funeral of his family.

Vlad made sure to keep an eye out for him with his ghost technology while the boy's friends knew he'd come back.

He just needed time to himself.

He wanted to be alone and time to process what had happened.

They just didn't know when he'd come back.

**_SOE_**

It was a cold, dreary night as Valerie rode on her hoverboard in the sky above her hometown of Amity Park. The ghosts still attacked even after the Phantom disappeared and she believed that he had been the cause for her friend to suddenly go missing four years ago. She had graduated with normal grades, some of the students were excited to finally leave their schooling behind them while others had an atmosphere of loss surrounding them. The obvious culprits being Danny Fenton's only two friends; Sam Manson and Tucker Foley since there was still no word on Danny's where-a-bouts back then.

Even now a whole year after graduation there was still nothing.

She still fought whatever ghost decided to come out of the Ghost Zone and into Amity, but they'd head towards the Fentons old place and into their old portal.

It must've been left open and ghosts had the decency to respect the deceased hunters' home enough not to enter from that portal.

However, whenever they came across Valerie they had to go back through that portal.

No one had the keys to the place to turn the thing off.

No one ... except for Danny...

The huntress groaned slowing down and stopping on the roof of a nearby office building, calling her board back into her feet and landed on the roof. She put her bazooka on her back, rubbing her shoulder as if to massage it. "Ugh, what a night," She groaned, closing her eyes and rolling her neck. "Well, one more round then I'll head on home."

She opened her eyes only to freeze.

There was a pair of ice-like blades aimed at her neck.

She swallowed, knowing that from the angle the blades were at that the culprit was behind her.

"Don't move." It was a male's voice.

One that was a deep baritone.

It was cold.

She could feel his tall, masculine body pressed against her back, nudging the bazooka into her spine as his blades were aimed at her neck.

She knew that this was a human.

She could only defend herself against ghosts, but humans were another thing.

She knew self-defence, but it didn't seem like a good idea at this moment.

He could kill her in one swift movement if he wanted to.

"Valerie Gray..." He snarled out as if it was venom and her eyes widened under her mask as genuine fear started to grip at her.

This guy knew her name.

How did he know?

What's he going to do to her?

Is he just going to kill her?

He seemed to consider his next words to her, but she noticed his hands tighten around the blades. "Do you believe what you're doing is right?"

She blinked her eyes at this question.

He wasn't going to kill her?

Well, he might.

He might just want her opinion on something first.

But what sort of question is that?

Without a second thought she answered him, "Yes, I do believe what I'm doing is right."

She swore she heard a snarl rise up from his throat, but ignored it. "Even if innocent civilians are killed in the crossfire?"

This question made her freeze.

Her eyes widened as she recalled how Danny had looked at his family's funeral.

He looked like the life had been drained right out of him.

He looked broken.

Lifeless.

As if he just wanted the world to end right there.

She cared for the boy deeply and because of _Phantom_ ... Danny's family was dead.

"It wasn't my _fault_. It was that damn _ghost_," She snarled out through gritted teeth.

"No. It is your fault. You just don't want to believe it is and are placing the blame on someone else," the male voice snarled out as if he was fed up with Valerie's hatred towards Phantom.

A frown crossed her features as she turned her head to try and glare at the male behind her. "How dare you," She spat out at him. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

He lifted a brow as if expecting this from her.

She grabbed his arm, slipped under his arms and across the roof; away from the male with the ice-like blades. She got in a battle-ready stance as he lifted his blades up into a popular dual sword-fighting stance. He ran at her, swinging the swords left and right with such precision that she hardly had any time to react.

He was close to her and she could see his appearance now. He was 6'2" and was wearing a black hoodie and baggy black pants. It was obvious that this helped him blend into the night in order to sneak up on her. His face was hidden under the hood, so she couldn't see his face.

Yet...

He was fast, swing one arm and used the other to block before swinging the other. She had to dodge quickly by leaning back or jumping away.

Who was this guy?

Who had she pissed off to have him after her?

Was he an assassin?

If so _why_ was he after her?

These thoughts ran through her mind continuously as she continued to dodge and duck his attacks. She made sure to watch his pattern since he kept repeating it so often. When she found an opening she would strike.

She watched him, carefully.

As he pulled his arm back and threw the other forward she ducked down and threw a punch into his gut causing him to stumble back, but he stayed upright. The only thing was that his hood had fallen down as he had stumbled back.

Valerie stared with wide eyes at the young man before her, shaking her head in disbelief.

His messy pitch-black hair was longer than the last time she'd seen him, reaching to just above his shoulders. He had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and obvious signs of stubble from not shaving as much. However, the most shocking thing to Valerie was the piercing ice-blue eyes that glared right at her with an iron, cold rage.

"D...Danny..." She stuttered out, almost unable to say his name. "...is that really you?"

He got his sword drawn, at the ready and stayed silent.

"W...Why'd you attack me!?" She exclaimed, her temper starting to get the best of her as she glared back at the male.

"Why else?" Danny answered her, making her blink at how different his voice was. "It's your fault that they're dead, Valerie."

She swallowed, looking down to see that she was still in her uniform. "You knew?" He stayed silent and she shook her head, growling. "Danny, it wasn't my fault. It was Phantom's! Did he put this ridiculous notion in your head?"

His eyes narrowed at her as those words left her lips. "No. I know because I saw it happen." She opened her mouth to interrupt him, but he continued. "You chased Phantom, he dodged because he doesn't want to get hit; who doesn't when shot at? You had your bazooka on full power not worrying about property damage because Phantom will take the blame for that." His blue eyes seemed to light with a fire that had never been there before. "You hit the billboard and when he saw the damage he told you to stop, but you didn't listen and sent multiple shots at him. So tell me, Valerie, what happened after that?"

She was gobsmacked at the little explanation Danny had given.

He pointed out even if it was small how none of it was Phantom's fault, but hers.

"Danny ...I..."

"You want to know?" Danny's blue eyes almost seemed like they were blue flames with how he felt the unbridled rage inside of him. "The billboard fell. Phantom tried to save them and what did you do? You stopped him. He could've saved them, Valerie!"

"I stopped him because he ruined my life! He needs to be destroyed!" Valerie exclaimed, not knowing of the storm that she had just unleashed.

He finally lowered his arms and put the swords in the sheaths on his belt. "You stopped him from saving my family because he ruined _your_ life?" He snorted in amusement.

"What's so funny!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry. So what you're saying is your grudge is more important than the lives of this city?"

"No, I'm not..." She was fumbling for words now. She knew what she had to say. With a newfound determination, she exclaimed, "I had to stop him from ruining others lives!'

Danny folded his arms, not impressed. "He didn't ruin anyone's life from what I know."

"He ruined mine! I lost everything I ever had because of him! If it wasn't for him I'd still..."

At this point, he was fed up.

He wouldn't have cared about her tantrums when he was younger, but now ... he just didn't care anymore.

"SHUT UP!" Danny shouted, causing the huntress to stare at the male across from her; who glared at her. "You think your life was ruined? Sure, you lost a house and popularity, but at least you can still keep trying to move forward in life." His eyes narrowed at her. "How dare you say that your life is ruined when you don't even understand the meaning. My family is dead, Valerie. They are gone. You still have a family. You still have a Dad. I have nothing, but the home I grew up in, but all it holds are memories now."

He may not be shouting, but the way he was so calmly speaking to her and so coldly sent shivers down her spine.

His eyes narrowed at her once more. "I never realized how selfish you were until I lost what was most important to me."

She stared at him as he ran to the edge of the roof, jumping off, but before she could yell at him to stop a ring of light surrounded his body. It went up and changed his dark clothing into a hazmat suit with white and green accents along with the gloves and boots. His dark hair changed to white and blue eyes to green. He heard a choked gasp behind him and turned to face Valerie once more; neon eyes glaring right into her own murky ones.

"I don't care if you ever forgive me anymore..." He kept his eyes narrowed on her. "...because I sure as hell won't ever forgive you."

He turned and took flight, leaving a dumbstruck Valerie Gray behind.

_'Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom, so the reason he wanted to save the Fentons wasn't just to be seen as heroic it was...'_ her hands went to her mouth as light sobs left her. "Oh Danny, I'm sorry."

Her hatred for the ghost had caused the deaths of her friends' family.

Now he hated her just as much as she had hated his Phantom part.

Only his reason was that she had caused the death of his family through property damage while pursuing Phantom.

She had believed it was Phantom's fault for dodging the blast.

But now it was understandable how much Danny hated her.

You couldn't bring back the dead.

Now she understood his hatred towards her - he saw as selfish and she was.

She hated herself for thinking that way.

If only she could've never held a grudge against him ... they'd still be here and Danny wouldn't be like that.

A cold man that hated her because she stopped him from saving his family.


	9. Don't Wanna Go

_**I have so many ideas for oneshots it's hard to finish them all. I have some that are half-finished while I've only just started some. It's kinda hard when you don't know where you want the story to go after the midpoint since it's a oneshot and you don't know how to end it. But here's an update of 'Shot of Ectoplasm' while I get started on the next update of 'Phantom Embryo'. I don't when it'll be, but maybe sometime in May, hopefully.**_

_**Anyways enjoy and stay safe!**_

_**What-if Scenario - Struck**_

_**Genre - Family/Tragedy/Angst**_

_**Word Count - 3,588 (Not including ANs)**_

* * *

**_Story 9: Don't Wanna Go..._**

_A boy with raven-black hair wandered down the dark street, heading home after hanging out with his friends most of the afternoon._

_His eyes were an icy-blue that seemed to reflect like glass._

_He lifted his head and frowned, noticing how dark the sky was getting. "It's getting cloudy. I hope I make it before it starts raining..." He wrapped his arms around himself as a shiver wracked his body._

_The teenager hurried down the street as the wind picked up and blew his hair into his face._

_It was then he heard the sound of a loud crack._

_He looked up at the sky, blinking, as the rain pelted onto his skin as a light flashed across his vision._

_He never made it home that night..._

_**SOE**_

"_...worst storm in the history of Amity __Park..._" The television was cut off as it was turned off by the remote control on the table.

The three family members at the kitchen table stared it, lost, sadness welling in each of them. That storm had taken someone they loved dearly away from them. He had never come home last night and they still didn't know if he was okay or not.

"I...It's got to be a ghost..." Jack Fenton stuttered out; his usual boisterous voice quiet and trembling. "No storm can take down a Fenton..."

"Dad, didn't you see the weather reports...?" The daughter; Jasmine responded as she swallowed her fears that her brother was truly gone. "They said there were strong winds and even lightning ... if Danny was hit..." She stopped herself from continuing at seeing the distraught expression growing on her Mother's face.

"I...If that's true, then why hasn't no one found him...?" Maddie's voice stuttered out, eyes wide as tears trickled out of her eyes. "If he was alive he could've found shelter until it was over a...and then come home..."

"Mum, there was also mentions of flooding. If he was struck by lightning he may not have survived..." Jazz lowered her head. "...if he somehow did and just lost consciousness then he probably drowned during the flood. He probably won't be found for a while..."

Jazz lifted her head to notice her parents clutch each other tightly.

She sighed, clasping her hands together in her lap and biting her bottom lip.

Why did this have to happen to her brother?

He never did anything bad.

He was a good boy.

He never hurt anyone.

He didn't deserve this sort of thing to happen to him.

Jazz wiped the tears away that had started to form in her eyes, but froze when she noticed a blurry form in the doorway to the kitchen.

It had black hair, sticking to its face and its clothes were wet, dripping water onto the floor as if it'd just come out of the shower with its clothes on.

Its eyes were an acidic green that stared right at her.

Through her.

She shivered as the being kept staring at her but noticed one last thing.

It had a scar running over its right eye that was glowing bright green.

_'A Lichtenberg scar...'_ She thought to herself, still keeping an eye on the being that she now realized was a boy.

A boy that looked familiar.

Her eyes widened as she stood to her feet, staring wide-eyed at the boy across the room from her. "DANNY!"

He just gave her a small smile almost as if reassuring her.

Her parents instantly turned around at Jazz's shout, but the boy that was Danny had instantly vanished.

Jazz swallowed, wanting to talk to him, but knew why he had done that.

Their parents were Ghost Hunters and if they saw Danny ... would they still see him as their son or try and destroy him?

What Danny needed was closure not to be destroyed.

What if finding his body would help?

Or even getting their parents to accept him?

"Why is the floor over here wet?" Jazz heard her Mother say as she kneeled on the floor where the wet patches were. She turned her head to her daughter with a frown plastered on her face. "Was Danny here, Jazz? You said his name."

Jazz froze before turning her head away from her parents; who looked at her, waiting for an answer to the question.

"He was, but..." She stopped, wondering what to say to them. "...he wasn't alive. He had a glow around his body, his entire body was wet and he had a Lichtenberg scar over his right eye." She turned her head to look at her parents to see their reactions, hoping that they wouldn't go extreme with this information. "H...He just needs to move on ... maybe helping him will help..."

She noticed how her parents had gone quiet which she didn't like.

They were most likely contemplating what to do.

If it was for Danny's sake they'd do the right thing, right?

"Jazz, honey..." Jazz stared as her Mother started with that line. Whenever she started with that line she would begin the whole spiel of how _all_ ghosts are evil. "...that's not your brother anymore. I'm sorry, but we have to put it down."

She sputtered, staring at her parents.

She couldn't believe this-them.

"What? It's Danny! Why can't you get this whole 'all ghosts are evil' theory out of your head long enough to help your own son move on!?" Jazz exclaimed as tears pricked at her eyes.

Maddie shook her head at her daughter. "Jazz, this hurts us too, but that ghost isn't Danny anymore. It's only the last remnant he had ... his last bit of consciousness..."

"And what if his last bit of consciousness was for us to find him?!" Jazz exclaimed, angry at how opinionated her parents were. "He might want to lead us to where his body is? What if that helps him move on?!"

"Ghosts aren't that simple, Jazzypants. They are malicious beings that only want to cause the living pain because they are no longer part of it," Jack growled out.

"I don't believe this..." Jazz gasped out, trying to comprehend what her parents were saying to her. "You'd destroy Danny's ghost and for what reason? Just because you believe in your ridiculous theories?"

Before her parents could try to stop her she was rushing out of the kitchen and out the front door of FentonWorks. She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to get rid of the feeling of worthlessness.

That she failed her brother.

She was the older sibling and she couldn't even take care of him-save him...

_"Don't cry..." _A hand landed on hers and pulled her clenched-up fist away from her face and she came face-to-face with Danny only this time it seemed so much more real to her that he was dead.

She sniffed as she looked over her brother's body, noting the small scuffs and bruises on his arms and the rips in his clothing.

His body must've been dragged pretty fair for him to have that many injuries.

How long was he alive for during all that?

She hated thinking it, but she hoped the lightning had killed him that way it was fast and painless he wouldn't have felt the slow and painful way of drowning in the flood as his body was dragged down the road, hitting anything in its path like in a river.

As his lungs were filled with water, suffocating him.

She couldn't stop thinking of how he had died and it haunted her.

Hurt her.

That he had been in pain and no one was there with him.

"Danny, w...why are you here?" She couldn't help but ask him.

_"Body ... find..." _It was very few words that came out of his mouth due to how garbled his voice sounded from the water in his lungs, but she knew what he meant.

He wanted her to help him locate his body.

Maybe this was the closure he needed to move on.

She put her other hand over his that was currently on hers and smiled at him. "I'll help as best as I can, Danny."

He just gave her a wide grin like he used to and Jazz knew that once they found his body ... she'd miss that smile of his...

_**SOE**_

The ghost of Danny led his sister down the road, away from FentonWorks. Jazz only hoped that her parents didn't get any ideas after what she said to them and ended up following her.

She knew her brother.

Why couldn't they see that Danny just wanted them to find his body and move on?

It made her angry that they were so biased.

That they believed in all these theories they created before they saw a ghost.

It disgusted her...

The boy suddenly stopped on the footpath and looked down, his sister following his gaze and stared with wide eyes. The usually white footpath was now stained black as charcoal with two footprints overlaying the stain as though someone had been standing there when it was made.

_"Happened ... here..."_ Danny's garbled voice came as Jazz looked up at her brother, brows scrunching in concern._ "...was ... painful..."_

She swallowed before finally deciding to wrap her arms around her little brother, giving him a reassuring hug. "You ... don't have to do this if don't want to, Danny..." She told him, voice wavering slightly.

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a garbled mess.

His sister winced causing her to realize he possibly did drown if he's talking like that.

If it was the lightning that killed him and his body was swept away then he'd look more affected by the lightning from what her parents have said when ghosts form after people die.

This must mean it was a combination of both; he was weak from being struck by lightning and wasn't ready for the flood when it came, so he ended up drowning.

It made her queasy just thinking about it.

She kept her attention on her dead brother as he pointed down the wet pathway where it went down an alley that led to the park.

It was still hard for her to come to terms with ... that her little brother was dead.

All because he couldn't get home on time.

He made a gesture for her to follow him and did so. It was another slow, quiet walk that allowed her to look at the damage the storm had caused, but notice that she couldn't have a conversation with Danny as they went.

He was a ghost...

He'd be gone once he fulfilled whatever last wishes he wanted to tell her and then he'd go.

She hated knowing that and having the responsibility to tell his friends.

Sam would blame herself for not letting him stay the night.

Danny looked at her from the corner of his eye, concern on his face as he pushed wrecked bushes and broken branches aside once entering the park. They entered an area with a small stream nearby as Danny waited for his sister to catch up. He heard the leaves in the bushes rustle as she came out and stared.

Danny had indeed led her to his body, but the sight of it was too much.

She collapsed on her knees, eyes watering as she stared at the glassy blue eyes of her brother's body.

It was slumped up against a rock, the bottom half of his body in the water and the upper half still leaning against the rock like a chair. His glass-like eyes were staring up as if he was waiting for help and never received it.

"Danny..." It hit her after finally seeing his body.

His corpse; that her brother was indeed dead.

That his ghost had been helping to lead her to it and would be gone any minute now.

Her eyes widened, turning around to face said ghost to find him thankfully still standing in place, staring at her with worried green eyes and mouth upside-down.

"Danny, y...you must have some ... last requests or w...wishes for me ... to do...?" She could hardly finish her sentence due to her tears pouring down her face.

He only gave her a solemn nod.

"W...What are they then?" She asked while wiping her tears away.

_"Tell ... Mum ... Dad ... I sorry..."_ He lowered his head as though ashamed he'd died. _"Tucker ... best friend ... ever..." _He gave a small smile as he spoke these words even if they sounded odd coming from his garbled voice. _"Sam..."_ He shut his mouth then almost as if he couldn't say it.

"I think I have an idea of what you want me to tell her."

He looked at her, blinking, but all he saw was a fond-knowing smile on his sister's face. He turned his head away from her with guilt clear across his face. _"Never ... told her..."_

A sudden weight caused him to turn his head back to face Jazz as she had come over to him to hug him. He may be a ghost and may be untouchable, but he needed one at that moment.

That was all it took for tears to well up in Danny's eyes that dripped down his face like the water still dripping from his wet hair. He dug his face into her chest and grasped her shirt in a vain attempt to hide; hide his emotions.

He'd just died that night and he never got to truly let all that out.

With trembling shoulders that were soothed by his sister's hands, he let out a wail of sobs into the morning air.

Knowing his sister was here with him.

It helped, but he'd have to leave her and everyone else he loved behind.

_"Y...You're ... best ... sister..."_ He sobbed into her shirt, eyes shut tight as though trying to imagine this was all a nightmare. _"I ... don't wanna ... go..."_ He mumbled out into her shirt.

Jazz had frozen at his words, smiling, but as conflicted as her brother was.

They both knew he had to go, but it hurt too much to let it happen.

"Oh, Danny..."

A few sniffles escaped his throat though his echoed cries still had that distinctive garbled sound to it, indicating how he had died.

It hurt Jazz that she hadn't been able to save her little brother.

She hadn't been there with him in his final moments.

He'd been alone.

He'd waited for someone to save him, but because people were told to stay inside due to the storm no one had come.

She felt awful.

If only she had felt something was off.

She would've gone out looking for him last night.

And now ... because she didn't her brother was dead.

He had been struck by lightning; possibly still alive and probably passed out in the flooded street before drowning.

It made her feel sick.

Her brother could've survived.

The older of the two siblings bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back a sob.

If this storm hadn't have happened ... he'd still be alive.

It hurt so much.

A rustle from within the bushes nearby caused the two to let go of each other and turn towards the noise. What jumped out of bushes was two jumpsuit wearing adults that the two teens knew all too well. It was Jazz's parents and formerly Danny's; the two had an ectogun drawn each and aimed in Danny's direction.

Jazz should've expected that they had followed her, especially after the way they had acted before.

It ground her gears that they had the nerve to act that way towards Danny.

He wasn't doing anything wrong.

All he wanted was to show her where his body was so he could move on.

It wasn't anything malevolent.

He just wanted to do one last thing before he left this plane of existence for good.

"Mum, Dad, put the guns down," Jazz demanded of her parents.

They ignored her command, keeping their gaze on Danny.

"How dare you trick our Jazz you pile of ectoplasmic scum!" Maddie shouted, powering up her weapon causing Danny to wince slightly and back away a bit.

"Mum, listen to me! It's Danny! Stop this nonsense!" There were tears in Jazz's eyes. "Put the weapons down! He just wants to say goodbye!"

"Jazzypants, ghosts don't do goodbyes. They are malicious beings that will trick you. We've taught you better than this. Just because it took Danny's form doesn't mean it's him. He's probably still at Sam's," Jack explained to his daughter not noticing how the two teen's glanced at each other.

'_So now they thought it's a trick. It's not like it's any different since they said they would get rid of Danny's ghost anyway_,' Jazz thought to herself, annoyed.

Danny grunted and floated aside giving his parents full view of his corpse.

The two froze.

Their eyes scanned their son's still form as if expecting him to move.

Maddie dropped her gun, rushing over and putting a hand to his wrist to check for a pulse.

There was none.

She checked his neck.

Nothing.

Her breathing picked up, hands shaky as they roamed over to his chest to find his heartbeat.

Any indication that her baby was still alive.

Again nothing.

"No, Danny, please..." She whimpered, tears appearing at the edge of her eyes.

No movement.

She swallowed, noticing the Lichtenberg scar along his face, the ripped and dirty clothing and how he was half-buried in water. Her gaze lifted to the ghost that had lead her daughter here, noting the similarities between her son's body and said spirit.

It wasn't possible.

But yet he was standing right there.

"D...Danny...?" Maddie muttered out causing the ghostly teen to give a nod and a small smile.

Jack looked at his son's body before turning to face the ghost they had previously been aiming their weapons at. His eyes widened when he realised what his wife did, choking. "Danno..."

The boy just gave them a simple smile not noticing the water continuing to puddle around him on the grass. _"I ... love you ... guys..."_ He garbled out to them, noticing how teary-eyed his sister was getting knowing what was to come. He wiped his own watery eyes, sniffling a bit. _"I ... sorry. I'll ... miss you..."_

"DANNY!"

The teenage ghost gave his family one last smile before he felt something in his core pull.

He had to go.

He'd done what needed to be done.

He said his last words.

He'd lead them to his body.

He wanted to stay, but couldn't.

He couldn't help it.

He started to sob, putting his face into his hands and tears streamed down his face. _"I don't ... wanna go ... yet..." _He let his voice garble out as his form flickered, confusion overcoming his being. He did what he had to do to move on yet he wanted to stay with his family. _"I wanna ... stay..."_

The three living Fentons stared at the ghostly one as he continued to cry.

They looked at each other.

Was it a good idea for him to stay?

This could be his only chance to move on.

"Danny..." He turned his head over towards his Mother. "...I want you to stay too, but this might be your only chance to move on. You might not get another."

The teenager sniffed as he looked over at his Dad. "I'd be fine with _you_ haunting our house, Danny, but your Mother's right."

Danny finally turned to his sister; who gave him a sad smile. "I know you want to stay, but if you stay you might be stuck here. I don't want that for you. I don't want you to have to deal with our deaths years down the line."

All this did was cause Danny to wail, wiping his eyes, sniffling.

His family approached him, giving him a big group-hug.

Soon he started to calm down and settled into the hug, wrapping his cold arms around his sister and parents with a smile on his face. _"I'll always be here..."_

His voice was clear at that time.

No gargle to his voice.

It was almost as if he was still alive except without the echo.

The three looked around to see that Danny was gone.

Before they could say anything Danny was in front of them once more; transparent and seemed to be fading.

His hand was on his chest and he was smiling, grinning almost.

The gesture was simple.

He slowly faded from their view and the three Fentons watched their youngest member fade into the wind.

He was telling them he'd always be with them ... in their hearts.

He was their son and brother and always would be.


End file.
